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Midnight\'s Call	By : newyorican Category: Harry Potter Crossovers > Slash - Male/Male Views: 14821 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 7
Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling and Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended and no profit is being made from the writing of this story.

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Chapter 2 – Shifting and Imprinting

“Everything that happens has a reason behind it.”

/Embry/Harry

The heat emanating from Teddy’s forehead worried him. Harry frowned and grabbed a rag from his drawer. The Fever Reducer should have kicked in hours ago. Instead, Teddy’s fever rose to an alarming 106.5 degrees Fahrenheit and seemed like it would continue to rise. Normally the high temperature would have severely damaged a Muggle child, but Teddy’s magic was able to protect him from higher fevers. However, Harry didn’t doubt that eventually even Teddy’s magic wouldn’t be able to protect him from whatever was ailing him. This worry was more than enough to convince Harry to bring outside forces to help.

Wetting the rag and placing it on Teddy’s forehead, Harry grabbed a pinch of Floo powder and called, “Harpy’s Palace,” into the fireplace before he stuck his head in. He smiled at the sight of the woman he used to be in love with bustling around her living room, moving in a manner that screamed Molly Weasley.

Her auburn hair shone brilliantly in the sun filtering into the room. Soft, melodic sounds escaped her mouth as she hummed an old Muggle tune along with the old fashioned radio playing in the background. She’d grown over the last eight years from a teenager on the cusp of womanhood to one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen. She had curves in all the right places and flawless skin, at her prime and simply breath-taking. If Harry wasn’t interested in hard, sculpted muscles instead of soft flesh, he had no doubt they would’ve found a way to work things out.

Alas, now wasn’t the time to think about that.

“Haven’t seen those green eyes in a while,” Ginny commented when she finally spotted the head in her fireplace, quirking a smile and an eyebrow at Harry.

The dark haired man smiled back, warmth entering his eyes. “I know,” he apologized, “and sadly this fire call isn’t personal. I need your help.”

Ginny nodded. “And how may I be of assistance?”

Harry hurriedly explained the problem, silently awed at how quickly the woman slipped into her professional mode. It had always been Ginny’s dream to be on a professional Quidditch team—ever since she was younger. However, the reality turned out differently than the fantasy. While she loved the game, Ginny wanted a family more than anything. With her constantly needing to travel, that was impossible. After five years and much deliberation, Ginny decided to retire from her position as Chaser on the Holyhead Harpies and use her hard-earned money to go to college.

Ron bemoaned for days. “You’re the greatest female Chaser yet,” he’d complained. “Don’t give up the game now or you’ll be stuck in a boring office job like this one!”

Hermione, of course, wacked her husband over the head and encouraged the slightly younger woman, “It’s an excellent idea, Ginny, and you have my full support.”

As fate would have it, as Ginny played her last professional Quidditch game, she’d been hit with a bludger in the stomach. The tremendous impact, sad to say, caused enough damage that no magic could cure. She was forever robbed of the one ability she had decided to quit her career for—bearing children.

When she woke from her medically induced coma and heard the news, Ginny shut down. No amount of comfort from her family could change her stoic expression. The light in her eyes had begun to slowly die day by day. Mrs. Weasley had coaxed her baby girl into moving back home until she could function normally, but that hadn’t been enough to keep an eye on Ginny. Instead, they rarely saw her at all. She stayed holed in her room for hours at a time and only left to eat meals when Mrs. Weasley herself dragged Ginny to the kitchen table.

Harry heard about Ginny’s sterility nearly two weeks later. He and Teddy had been taking a small vacation in the Caribbean with no means of communication. The vacation served as a birthday present to Teddy and a tribute to his parents; Tonks and Remus had wanted to travel places during their much deserved happily ever after. Just because they couldn’t enjoy it didn’t mean they’d want Teddy to miss out on the adventures they would’ve had.

“Ginny had an accident,” Hermione had said solemnly over the phone when he’d called to let her know the details. “Harry…she’s bad.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Harry had gathered Teddy in his arms and immediately Flooed to the Burrow. Teddy was placed in Mrs. Weasleys arms and he marched himself to Ginny’s room. It hadn’t changed much since she’d moved out the first time—a nice lilac color and very neat, so unlike Ron’s old room. He’d spotted her sitting on her bed, head bowed as she gazed blankly at a small book in her hands.

He didn’t try to talk to her like Hermione had. The bookworm had been screamed at.

He didn’t try to hug her like Mrs. Weasley had. The mother had been pushed away.

He didn’t try to convince her that the game was the greatest she’d ever placed like Ron had. The insensitive man had earned himself a broken nose.

Instead, Harry had sat and waited. Ginny would talk to him when she felt like it, and no sooner. At his presence, her position had relaxed considerably. Before he knew it, Ginny had all but flown at him, sobbing heavily into his shoulder. Without another thought, Harry had wrapped his arms around her and rocked her, listening to her broken words and mournful cries. He listened as she ranted about all of the other women in the world that didn’t deserve to be mothers just popping out babies, and that she had wanted one more than anything in the world. She had so wanted to be a mother, but that dream was ruthlessly murdered. Never would she be able to actually have a tiny life growing inside of her; there would be no more pregnancy scares. She would never experience the joy her mother had…never…

When Ginny had calmed down enough, Harry had whispered soft encouraging words to her. “There are a ton of orphans in the world that need help,” he’d gently said. “Any of them would be lucky to have you as a mother.”

She had shrugged her shoulders, not really caring. “I left Quidditch to have a family. It’s not possible now; not the way I want it to be.”

Harry had wiped away her tears with the pad of his thumb. “So do something about it.”

That little statement had slowly transformed Ginny from the devastated woman back to her strong, independent self. She continued her plans to go to college and intensively studied the art of Healing. Currently, she was one of the best damn Healers Britain had ever seen. Just because she was physically incapable of birthing children didn’t mean she didn’t like caring for them.

“Step aside,” Ginny said, already retrieving her medical bag and snapping Harry out of his musings.

Harry smiled as she walked out of his fireplace only moments later, shaking her head to rid the fuzziness that accompanied International Floo travel. He hugged her briefly and placed the tiniest of kisses to her temple before leading her towards Teddy’s room. Ginny immediately walked over to the edge of Teddy’s bed, wand out and scanning the small boy with every spell in her arsenal. She frowned slightly, small lines appearing near her eyebrows.

“Strange,” she murmured softly.

“What is?” Harry wrung his hands nervously. Had he made a mistake in waiting before calling for help? Had he somehow irreparably helped damage Teddy?

“Despite his high fever, Teddy doesn’t seem to have anything wrong with him. His body isn’t fighting anything foreign and his only other symptoms seem to be his muscles contracting. As a matter of fact, it seems like his body is doing some major work to become stronger, though I don’t know why,” Ginny explained. She hummed thoughtfully. “Hermione said something like this might happen…”

“What did Hermione say exactly?” Harry asked curiously, feeling a little better that Teddy was actually somewhat okay.

Ginny put away her wand and motioned for Harry to follow her. She’d only been in his cottage once before, but it seemed she still knew her way around. The red-haired woman walked into his kitchen as if it were her own and began making tea. The act seemed simple, yet it worried him a little. Ginny only made him tea when she had important, life-altering news to tell him. Last time, it’d been before they broke up and she had a pregnancy scare. Needless to say, Harry never trusted her making him tea ever again.

“Drink,” Ginny said as she set the mug beside him.

“Not quite sure if I trust it,” Harry murmured, eyeing the tea suspiciously.

Ginny grinned. Her eyes took on a wry quality as she said, “While it isn’t bad news, I’m not sure it can necessarily be considered good news. Knowing you, you’d see some silver lining.”

Harry sighed and sank onto his kitchen chair. He took a long sip of tea and nodded his head. “I’m ready for whatever beans you’re about to spill.”

Ginny snorted. “Silly Americanisms,” she said playfully. Her expression quickly sobered up a few moments later. “Harry, as you know, Hermione has been doing some private research for a few years concerning Teddy. She was fascinated about him retaining only some qualities of his father’s lycanthropy. There were a few willing volunteers at the S.P.M.C.W. that helped her with her research.”

Harry nodded. He already knew about all of this. “Mhm,” he hummed in agreement.

“In the few cases where the child doesn’t fully inherit the parent’s lycanthropy, they become very ill as their body changes to accept the genes have been passed down. This varies age-wise and hasn’t happened very often. It looks like Teddy is the youngest so far.” Ginny stared at him, trying to gage his reaction.

Harry stared at his cup of tea thoughtfully. “Okay,” he said slowly. “So…what? He’s becoming a stronger human? Is he still human?”

“He is,” Ginny assured. She knew Harry didn’t particularly care, but even the improvements in the Wizarding world could completely rid it of its former prejudices. “He’s just got some wolfish aspects. From what I can see, his skin will become more resilient to nearly anything. Silver may still be a problem, but I don’t think you particularly want to figure that out at this point in time. Hermione also thinks he’ll maintain a higher body temperature than the average human. She suspects he’ll also be able to take the form of a wolf at will. At least, that’s what previous cases have shown. Teddy may be entirely different.”

“I can deal with this,” Harry murmured softly. “I’ve handled Voldemort; this won’t be any problem.”

Ginny grinned at him, sipping her tea. “So, how have you been?”

Harry shrugged, eyeing her with a half-smile. “Pretty good. I’m almost done with my new book.”

Ginny snorted. “You mean M. Night Wolfe is almost finished with his new book,” she retorted playfully.

Harry rolled his eyes. “Same person,” he replied. “But yes, the next book is just about finished.”

“Good! I’m tired of waiting for your lazy arse to publish it.”

Harry laughed softly. “What about you?” he asked. “How’s everything?”

“Same old, same old.” Ginny frowned slightly. “It’s actually been kind of boring.”

“Well, what about that Robert fellow you were seeing?” Harry had heard about the bloke a few weeks ago during one of their rare social calls, considering her long work hours and his taking care of Teddy during all of his free time. She sounded happy about dating the bloke then.

“He apparently wasn’t as okay about not having children as he said he was,” Ginny said softly, averting her gaze. Her eyes took on a soft misty quality.

Harry’s expression saddened. “Oh, Ginny…”

Ginny shook her head and smiled. “It’s alright,” she said somewhat numbly. “I long accepted my condition. It doesn’t stop the wanting, but I can accept its irreparability.”

“You’ll find someone who will accept everything about you,” Harry said, standing up to pull her into a hug.

“I might as well become a lesbian. They won’t expect me to bear any children,” Ginny joked into Harry’s chest, her voice muffled as she returned the hug. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of safety briefly before she pulled away.

Harry snorted. “It’s not exactly something you randomly decide one day,” he said dryly, a tiny grin on his face. Poking fun of his homosexuality was Ginny’s way of showing she was okay with it, and it made Harry love her all the more.

“Perhaps not, but sexuality does seem to creep up unexpectedly and in the oddest of times,” she commented. They shared a moment of silence before collapsing into giggles. Their light-hearted moment was disrupted by Ginny’s watch suddenly erupting into a series of chimes—it was a neat invention by her father. “I’m needed at the hospital,” she said apologetically.

Harry nodded his head. “I understand. Thanks for checking on Teddy,” he replied softly.

“I saw the potions on his bedside table. You did a good job,” Ginny replied easily, smiling widely. “Just keep him hydrated with plenty of fluids. I wouldn’t worry too much about the fever since it doesn’t really seem to be endangering him. The only thing you can really do is wait. Let me know if anything changes.”

She gave him one last hug before making her way to the living room and disappearing into the fireplace. Harry stared at it for a moment longer before putting the partially full teacups into the sink and making his way back to Teddy’s bedroom. Ginny hadn’t really changed in the past few years, and her presence had comforted him. Harry didn’t realize how much he’d missed her.

Walking into Teddy’s room, Harry froze. The bed was empty. Trying to stop the panicking in his heart, Harry decided to check places Teddy might have gone to—the bathroom, his own bedroom. Nothing. The little boy wouldn’t be downstairs. For one, Harry had just come from there. Besides, Teddy should have been too weak.

A soft noise from under the covers caught his attention. Cautiously, Harry reached under the covers and gasped. A small brown wolf cub stared back at him, eyes sparked with recognition. It let out a series of barks and whines, standing on its hind legs.

“Teddy?” Harry whispered, eyes wide.

Teddy let out a howl, nodding his head up and down. He took a few uneasy steps forward before flopping down on the bed. His fur changed to a deep blue. Harry remembered Teddy doing that as a small child when he was sad or depressed. With a confused smile, the black haired man picked up the wolf cub and cuddled him to his chest.

“Oh, Teddy,” Harry said, shaking his head and laughing. “It seems you’ve earned my unusual talent of random occurrences happening to you. Though I think you may have topped my record with this latest situation…”

Teddy growled playfully and patted Harry’s nose with his paw.

Harry laughed again before setting Teddy down on the floor. Teddy looked at him confusedly, cocking his head to the side and his ears drooping. A tiny whimper escaped the still blue cub. Harry smiled and focused his magic. He felt the change happening—his bones reshaped and he sprouted fur.

He decided to become an Animagus six years ago. Originally, it was because at the time he’d been exploring and researching all types of magic. Most wizards failed to realize that an Animagus transformation was wandless magic. They relied too heavily on using their wands and didn’t see that they had the potential to be greater.

Harry, of course, was already quite proficient in wandless magic. It wasn’t a talent he wanted to show off, per se. All of his life, Harry craved normalcy. That hadn’t changed when he became a wizard, nor when he found out he was the Wizarding world’s Chosen One, nor when he defeated Voldemort. If anyone found out he didn’t really need a wand, he’d be placed on an even higher pedestal.

Not using wandless magic didn’t make him any less of a wizard—just a normal one.

Still, after researching nearly every kind of magic and figuring out which he was most comfortable with, shifting into an animal at will had to be one of Harry’s favorite branches of magic. His Animagus form was that of a midnight black wolf (hence his oh-so-clever penname) with sleek fur, glowing unmistakably green eyes, and ominously gleaming claws. His arms and legs were strong, perfect for running…or taking out an enemy.

Running in his Animagus form provided a nice freedom he hadn’t before experienced. He’d become addicted to running throughout the plush greenery of the forest in Forks and La Push, feeling the loose dirt underneath his paws and taking in nature with new eyes.

He’d indulged in the occasional run when he was completely certain that Teddy was deeply asleep. He couldn’t do it as often as he wanted to because of the little boy in his care, but he cherished every time he was able to run free.

Teddy barked wildly, his fur changing bright yellow as Harry joined him in wolf form. Harry allowed the cub to nuzzle its cheek against his leg before using his rough tongue to lick Teddy’s other cheek. Using his teeth to gently bite Teddy at the base of the neck, like he’d seen most parental animals do to their young, he carried his godson down the stairs and out of the house. He set Teddy down and snorted, absent-mindedly wondering why he hadn’t just bothered transforming outside.

Teddy let out small yips as he felt the snow beneath his paws. Excited, he began running around in circles in an amused attempt to chase after his tail. Harry let out barks of laughter. He could feel the wards adjust ever-so-slightly to his and Teddy’s wolf forms, accepting their magical signatures and not taking any action against them. That’s why he liked these particular wards; they were more advanced than the ones he’d originally planned on placing around his property. The plan had been to protect him and Teddy from outside forces, all kinds, unless keyed into the wards.

The problem with such wards, however, was that people could accidentally stumble upon his domicile and get hurt. Because, of course, when people live in an area surrounded by such a beautifully plush forest, camping was a must.

Not wanting to get the American magical government involved, Harry had to have modified wards that protected him from harm against those with malicious intent towards the persons in the house. It worked out just fine, in the end. There wasn’t really too much supernatural life in Forks, Washington. He didn’t really need to be under such heavy protection; not like him and Teddy would have in Britain despite all the changes for the better.

Another issue with the wards was that they only alerted him to potential dangers. When a person entered a warded area with the will to do harm against the people residing in said area, it tainted their cores ever-so-slightly. The wards were good at detecting such taints. The real problem with the wards was that anyone powerful, or smart, enough could easily hide their presence. He wouldn’t really have a clue as to whether or not someone was watching him.

The thought sent chills down his spine.

Still, Forks was a calm area and nothing exciting ever happened. The paranoia he’d developed since surviving the war wouldn’t let him completely rest. He’d abide by American magical laws since he was currently an American citizen, but Mad-Eye Moody’s cries of “CONSTANT VIGILENCE!” would never escape his head. He didn’t believe anything would really happen, but he had several back-up plans for every type of problem only Harry Potter would ever be capable of running into.

Teddy’s fur changed to bubble gum pink. It was the same shade Tonks preferred, Harry noticed wistfully. With a soft bark, Harry nudged Teddy into walking. The cub followed without another word, instincts kicking in. For all intents and purposes, Harry was leader of the pack. Harry was the one that would keep him safe no matter what.

Harry urged Teddy to break into a soft jog with encouraging growls and yips. It was like teaching his baby how to walk all over again, and he loved it. He’d missed the early years, raising Teddy from scratch, wondering if he was doing it right and if the little boy would grow up into the man Tonks and Remus would be proud of. He’d had his doubts and insecurities, moments of weakness where he thought of his neglectful childhood getting in the way of providing Teddy with the loving environment he himself had never had.

Teddy’s little pink tongue lolled out of his mouth as he panted happily, tail wagging cheerfully. He seemed to enjoy being in his wolf form. Perhaps that was instinct as well. Harry never hid Remus’ lycanthropy from the boy and, though he wasn’t completely sure Teddy would be able to shift into a wolf at will, he had told Teddy of the possibility.

Like all confident children raised away from prejudices, Teddy thought it would be a cool thing to inherit from his father. If only Remus had lived long enough to hear that…

Shaking his head, Harry let out a bark. He had much to show Teddy about his little wolf body, and plenty of time and land to do so. With another nudge, Harry led Teddy further away from their house and closer towards the edge of the wards, acknowledging the scent of other animals in the forest but unaware of the significance of another much larger wolf patrolling not too far away.

***

There were times where Embry Call hated being a shape shifter.

Firstly, it fucked with his idea of reality. He’d grown up believing the old tales his tribe had spoken of were just that. Tales. Fiction. There were no such things as vampires, werewolves, mythical creatures, or anything of the like. It just wasn’t possible, and it was universally accepted as a myth. Well, it was until he’d gotten really sick, missed a week of school, and discovered that it wasn’t mythical bullshit. Like the elders had spoke of, Embry became one of the lucky kids to have the ability to transform into a wolf and exactly on his seventeenth birthday.

Oh, the joy.

When he really thought about it, the freedom to change into a wolf was actually rather cool. He could do something others couldn’t, and it made him special. However, being a member of Sam’s budding pack had certain consequences that made Embry curse his genes. The second reason why he wasn’t too thrilled to be able to shift was because of the secrecy involved in the act. Now that he had a wolf form, he had certain duties that needed tending to, like protecting Forks from the Cullens or any other leech they ran across.

His mother was ignorant to his newfound ability, and couldn’t understand that he wasn’t rebelling against her by staying out as late as he did. He had a responsibility to protect the humans surrounding the La Push territory. It wasn’t like he could walk up to her and say, “Mom, I’m not trying to go against your authority. I just need to walk around the edge of the forest at odd hours to protect Forks and La Push from the leech infestation. I’ll try to make it home in time for dinner tomorrow.”

Along with not being able to tell his mother anything, Embry couldn’t tell his best friends either. He always told Quil and Jacob everything. Now he ignored them in favor of his pack duties, and he could see how hurt and confused they were by his behavior. Jacob’s kind brown eyes that were always laughing were now accusatory, taking in his change in appearance and attitude with disapproval. Embry so wanted to tell them, but keeping the secret was much too important, and his Alpha had forbidden it.

Frowning, Embry continued to prowl the edge of the border line between La Push and Cullen territory. Another issue with having inherited the shape shifter gene was the issue of his parentage. He’d always believed his father was some bastard that didn’t care for his mother or him. Now he found out that his father was actually one of three cheating bastards that certainly weren’t about to find out if he was their son—to keep the tribe problem-free, of course.

His nose twitched slightly; he caught the scent of two strange creatures. Wolves, he could tell, but different. One of them smelt slightly familiar, as if he’d caught a small whiff of it before. Embry frowned and followed the scent, his haunches raised. An odd, unidentifiable sensation crept into the pit of his stomach.

Quietly padding closer to the scent, Embry tried to keep his presence unnoticeable for as long as possible. He caught a glimpse at the strange wolves and his eyes widened.

A small cub with unmistakably yellow fur was curled against the leg to what Embry assumed was his father. For some reason, the thought of a wolf having yellow fur was stranger to him than a human shifting into a wolf.

The other wolf was older, male, and had a sort of air around him. His eyes, a startling vivid emerald green, were too knowledgeable. He’d seen other (normal) wolves before; knew how calculatingly smart they were. This wolf’s eyes, though… They reminded him of his pack. They were somehow human.

The wolf had a beautiful midnight black coat, standing out tremendously in the snow. Embry studied the wolf for a bit, confused and feeling oddly glad.

Gold began to tint his vision, temporarily blinding him. That strange wolf was surrounded by gold lights, beautifully horrifying. Embry choked on air, the sound catching the attention of the strange wolf. The wolf got into a ready stance, upper lip curled upwards in a snarl as he stood between Embry and his cub.

Embry’s heart thudded faster. The wolf—he was beautiful. His eyes widened in horror and before he could think, the world began to spin out of orbit and he felt himself collapsing onto the snow. He could hear his small pack in the back of his mind demanding to know what the problem was.

He just imprinted on a male wolf.

Shit.

A/N: lazyslothwho: The age gap is about nine years. I personally don't view that as too big, but people may think otherwise. Sorry if it offends.

Thanks to everybody who reviews and rates this story of mine. I'm glad people are enjoying it.
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Midnight\'s Call