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Fragmented Soul	By : StrawberryGirl87 & Bickymonster Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Fenrir Views: 79703 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 10
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything in the fandom. no money/profit is made.

Chapter List
- 51
- 52
- 53
We have something of a posting spree planned for you guys. We are about seven weeks from Fragmented Soul's one year anniversary and we have a chapter planned out to post then; this does mean we have a fair few chapters to post before then, so I hope you are all ready to have lots of reading material.

Fragmented Soul
Chapter 52 - Foreboding
Moods were all a little sullen Wednesday morning as they took the three young werewolves took seats at the Slytherin table with Draco, Daphne, Theo and Astoria. It was going to be a long day for the fifth years as they had astronomy that evening. The days were dragging with the anticipation of the coming weekend, when they would get to see their family. It seemed that the week would never end.
Romy had another meeting with her biological family that evening. Hopefully it would be her last; she wasn’t getting anywhere with them and it was starting to wear her down a little, having to deal with them and the emotions that came with them. She felt as if it were time to end it. She was alive and happy; they knew that now and hopefully they could move on with their own lives because she was certain that she didn’t want them in hers.
For Clay, the thought of the coming weekend was not quite as exciting. Despite knowing that he would see his Dad, he also knew that he would be seeing the Alpha too and he couldn't exactly look forward to that knowing that he was owed a punishment after his fight with Harry. It was something that had been playing on his mind a lot, knowing that Fenrir wasn’t pleased with how he had acted.
“You three are acting like someone died,” Pansy said, taking a seat next to Daphne, eyeing the three werewolves with disdain. All three had long faces and were picking half-heartedly at their scrambled eggs, none of them bothering to eat much.
“You do seem a little… unsettled,” Draco said, looking between the three morose faces. “What’s going on?” he asked curiously.
“Things are just…” Harry began, trying to think of the best way to put it.
“Strained?” Clayton put in helpfully and Harry nodded his agreement, thinking that was as good a way of explaining it as any.
“There is a lot going on,” Romy added, looking to Harry, who had turned back to his breakfast but had still failed to eat anything. Both she and Clay were a little worried that Harry was yet to share anything about his meeting with Dumbledore the previous day but they knew that it might take time. Harry, after all, was someone who liked to think things through himself before discussing them with others.
“Maybe you three need to have some fun,” Theo suggested, helping himself to his third slice of toast. “You haven’t played any pranks recently.”
“Please,” Romy said in a voice that truly showed how mentally exhausted she was feeling, “don’t encourage them.” She was fairly physically tired too; all the stress they had been under was doing nothing for the quality of the rest she was getting.
“I agree, they don’t need to play pranks to amuse themselves,” Daphne said, glaring at Theo for even suggesting this.
“You know,” Harry said, managing half a smile, “I think you’re right.” After everything Dumbledore had said the day before he was in no mood to behave himself. He was apprehensively hopeful that the headmaster might be good to his word and let him see his father that evening, but he didn’t dare get his hopes up too much; besides, he was terrified what state his Dad might be in.
Draco groaned, not really feeling that this was the best way to start the morning. “Just no food fights, please,” he requested, “I just washed my hair.”
Harry laughed. “Okay, my vain friend, no food fights,” he agreed, thinking that there were so many other options that this was hardly much of a limitation at all; he would save their next food fight for perhaps a weekend, when he could really make the most of it.
“What did you have in mind?” Clay asked pushing away his plate of barely touched breakfast and turning his attention to his pack brother. It wasn’t like they had come prepared to pull a prank so it would have to be something fairly simplistic.
“Hmm,” Harry mused, delving into the pocket of his school robes and bringing out his wand, twirling it between his fingers as he thought it over. “Something to cause a scene, but nothing too drastic,” he said, trying to conjure up the happiest moment he could think of, pointing his wand to the floor next to the table where they were sat. “Expecto Patronum.”
A bright, silver mist erupted from Harry’s wand, taking the form, not of a stag as Harry, Clay and Romy had expected, but instead taking the form of an enormous silver wolf that the three werewolves instantly recognised as Fenrir in his other form. Only briefly being phased by the fact that his patronus had altered so dramatically, Harry sent the giant wolf charging down the aisle between the tables, scaring half the students in its wake.
“I thought your patronus was a stag,” Clay muttered; Romy looked as if she was wondering this too, nodding her head in agreement to the question.
“So did I,” Harry said, though he wasn’t at all upset by the loss of his stag. It had been a sign that he was like his mother, whose patronus, according to his Dad, had been a doe; the wolf, it was now, represented his other life, the one he was living now, the life that he had with Fenrir.
“Is that a corporeal patronus?” Draco asked, his voice half way to a laugh. He didn’t know why he even let anything Harry did come as a surprise to him anymore, but he was witnessing some seriously impressive magic.
Harry’s attention, though, was still on the silvery wolf, which he made jump up onto the Gryffindor table, running the length of it and snapping it’s teeth at Ron; this had the rather wonderful effect of making the Gryffindor boy let out a startled squeal and fall backwards off the bench.
Even from across the room they could hear the Weasley twins taunting their younger brother for being such a cowardly Gryffindor; this was, of course, much to Clayton’s delight. Romy said nothing, just rolling her eyes at their antics; she didn’t really approve as such, but she had no specific objections, particularly when it was improving all their moods quite so effectively.
The patronus had not only caught the attention of the students though, and a few of the teachers had turned their attention to the wolf too; this including one Remus Lupin, who had had no trouble working out that Harry was the one behind the spell. Deciding he was done with his own breakfast, the professor got up from the head table and made his way across the room.
“Very impressive, Mr Prince,” he said as he reached Harry, and the teenager turned around to look up at him.
“Erm, thank you,” Harry said, not really having expected praise for what he had considered something of a prank.
“I suppose I should not be surprised by its form,” Remus mused, watching as the wolf meandered its way through the various students in the hall; most people seemed more curious than scared now that it was clear that the silvery creature wasn't about to attack anyone.
“Well, I was,” Harry admitted quietly, with a chuckle. “It was a stag the last time I summoned it.”
“Really?” the professor questioned, looking genuinely surprised by this revelation.
“I know that my Mother’s was a doe, so I guess that made sense,” Harry went on with a shrug, still slightly confused by the fact that it had changed. “My Dad’s was too, but he said that his had become that for her.”
Remus nodded. He had heard of this sort of change being reported before, but the change in Harry’s patronus’ form implied something that he had not truly believed until now. “Love is very powerful, Harry,” he explained. “It changes us very deeply, and so a patronus, which is in some respects a very pure representation of our inner selves can change form when we fall in love.”
“So mine changed because I love…?” Harry said, looking back at the silvery version of Fenrir, as the wolf snarled at a third year girl who reached out to touch it.
“I believe so,” Remus said, not really sure how to process the new information.
Harry couldn’t help but smile at that thought. It was also proof, though he had never doubted it, that his Dad really had loved his mother. He wondered what form Fenrir’s would take, if he could cast the spell; he grinned slightly at the hopeful idea that maybe it would be a falcon.
“Professor, can I have a quick word, in private?” Harry asked, an idea suddenly forming in his mind. He had had the thought the previous evening when he had been talking to Dumbledore but this conversation really had sealed his decision.
“Of course,” Remus said, a little confused as to what Harry could possibly want to talk to him about. He noticed that both Clayton and Romy seemed to be confused by this too, so apparently it was not something he had discussed with his pack siblings either, which only made him all the more curious.
Harry smiled gratefully, and grabbed his book bag as he got up from his seat. “I shouldn’t be long,” he told his friends, “but don’t wait for me. And don’t look so worried,” he added with an amused smile and a shake of his head, before he turned and walked towards the large doors to the hall with Remus just behind him.
“And he tells us not to worry,” Clayton said with a snort of amusement, watching as the silver wolf bounded up to Harry, brushed against him, before fading away. “After everything that has happened to him when he wanders off alone,” he went on, turning back to Romy as Harry disappeared out of sight.
“He’s with Professor Lupin, how much trouble can he get into?” Draco asked with a frown, thinking that Clayton was surely worrying for nothing as he usually did.
“This is Harry, we’re talking about,” Romy pointed out with a wry smile. “It is probably best not to ask questions like that.”
FGHP
“Would this be a conversation that requires my office, or will simply a discussion as we walk suffice?” Remus questioned once they got out of the Great Hall. There were not many students around and so for most conversations it would provide enough privacy, but he was not sure what this was about so he wanted to offer Harry the choice.
“I think we can walk and talk,” Harry said with a smile. “It was just a quick favour I had to ask you really and I’m hoping that you won’t mind agreeing.”
“Okay, I’m listening,” Remus said as they wandered down a nearby corridor that would lead them towards the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom eventually, even if it was a slightly longer way around.
“I met with Dumbledore yesterday,” Harry explained, thinking over how best to word what he was going to request, glancing behind them to make sure they really were alone. “Did you know that he is holding my Dad?” he asked suddenly, needing to know what Remus knew.
“Severus was killed, Harry,” Remus said sadly, not sure why Dumbledore would have told him otherwise. He had been there that day when they had attacked the Ingleton house; he hadn’t wanted Severus to be killed, they had only been trying to find Harry. Remus had been hit by a spell that had left him unconscious, but Mad-eye had told him how Severus had fought back and died.
“No, he wasn’t,” Harry insisted. “We were all supposed to believe that, but he wasn’t killed. Dumbledore has him and he has agreed to take me to see him this evening.”
Remus’ ability to keep walking seemed to fail him at that point as he tried to process that he had been lied to about such a thing. That Dumbledore was apparently holding Severus as a prisoner. He couldn’t help but wonder if Sirius had known the truth, remembering how secretive Sirius had become; had his former lover lied to him too? Remus had a suddenly horribly sinking feeling in his gut about where Severus was being kept.
“Professor?” Harry asked, rather concerned about the trance that Lupin seemed to have gone into.
“Sorry, Harry, it is just a lot to process,” Remus said, catching up with the teenager again, as they started walking once more.
“You’re telling me,” Harry agreed. He had felt completely stunned by the revelation when Draco had told him, and he still was almost scared to really believe it in case it turned out to be a lie or some kind of misunderstanding; he wasn’t sure he could bare to lose his Dad all over again.
“So how can I help you?” Remus asked, more determined than ever to do what he could for Harry. Once more Dumbledore had proven himself to be untrustworthy and his faith in the man’s way of doing things was rapidly fading.
“I want you to come with me,” Harry requested. He knew it was a lot to ask, but he didn’t want to get Clay or Romy involved and Remus would make a far better middleman between him and Dumbledore in these circumstances.
“Of course,” Remus said; the request was almost a welcome one. He had already decided that he would be going to Grimmauld Place to challenge Sirius on the truth of what he had just learned, and this way he would get his confirmation of what was really going on with Severus even sooner. Not to mention that he was delighted that Harry had come to him to ask for help on this matter. “I will be there,” he promised.
“Thank you,” Harry said earnestly, letting out a sigh of relief. He couldn’t believe how much better he felt about the whole evening knowing that Lupin was going to be there too.
It was a little strained between them after that, neither of them knowing what to say. Their relationship was so new and unknown to both of them. “It really was very impressive, you know,” Remus said after a few minutes.
“Hmm?” Harry asked, turning to look at the professor as they walked.
“The patronus,” Remus explained. “It was impressive. There are a lot of full grown wizards who would struggle with that spell.”
“Oh… well I had a good teacher,” Harry said with a smile, remembering the lessons he had had with his Dad. “It took me quite a long time to master it,” he admitted.
There had been many weeks of intensive practice before he could conjured anything more than a pathetic little silvery wisp; and then a month or so more after that before he first created a corporeal patronus. He had wanted to give up, not understanding why his father was so insistent on him learning it, but Severus’ determination had paid off in the end. Remembering how using the stag to summon the pack members had saved himself and Romy from the strays, he was eternally grateful for his father’s hard work.
“I really hope that if Severus is alive as you believe, that we can get him back for you, Harry,” Remus told him. He had still had his doubts about Severus’ motivations and actions, but there was no doubting the love and care with which Harry had been raised and taught; Severus was Harry’s father now, in all but blood, and he wanted Lily and James’ son to have the father he loved in his life. “I’m going to do everything I can to achieve that,” he promised with sincerity.
“Thank you, Professor,” Harry said earnestly. “Dumbledore told me to come to his office after dinner. But just so you know, I plan on being late,” he added, not wanting to repay the professor’s kindness by leaving him to sit alone with the headmaster for an extended period of time for no reason at all.
“Any particular reason why?” Remus asked with amusement, curious as to why anyone would plan to be late, especially when it came to Dumbledore.
“He’s annoying,” Harry said with a shrug. “And he told me not to be,” he added with a smirk. Remus couldn’t help but chuckle, he really did admire the teenager for how brazen he could be. It was probably exactly what James would have done too, he realised.
After a few moments silence where the two of them carried on walking, Harry finally got up the courage to speak again. This thought had been playing a lot on his mind and it took a lot to finally get it out.
"My Dad isn't really my Dad, is he?" Harry said quietly. He had half known the truth in his mind for a while, but not felt ready to admit it. He certainly wasn’t ready to accept anyone else as his Dad in his mind but he wanted to hear the truth for once in all its painful glory.
Remus sighed, wondering if or when Harry might broach this topic. "No, biologically Severus is not your father. But he is still your Dad, Harry,” he added quickly, wanting Harry to know for certain that he didn’t question who Severus was to him.
“I know, he always will be,” Harry said confidently. Severus had been the man who had raised him, even if he hadn’t been the one to give him life. And he had loved his mother. “You knew my biological father too, didn’t you?”
Remus nodded. “James was one of my best friends, I knew him very well. You are a lot like him sometimes,” he added with a smile.
“I’m not sure I am ready to hear about him,” Harry said with a frown, not at all sure how he felt about being compared to a man he had no knowledge of. Though he was definitely curious as to why his Dad had hidden the truth from him about James but not about his mother. “Will you tell me about him when I am ready though?” Harry requested.
“Of course, I would love to,” Remus said honestly. “You will only ever have to ask, but I will leave it up to you.”
“Fenrir trusts you to look after us, you know,” Harry said after a few moments hesitation. “Please think about joining the pack; Fenrir doesn’t let people into the pack easily, he wants you there and I think you belong with us.”
“I imagine that he isn’t a man who trusts easily,” Remus mused, thinking of the man that he had thought Fenrir was. However, now that he had seen how much Harry loved him and how the Alpha treated the submissive werewolf he was beginning to think that he might be wrong about him.
Harry smiled. “No,” he agreed, “he isn’t. But he’s a good Alpha, he isn’t the man everyone thinks he is,” he insisted, hoping that what the professor had seen of Fenrir might be enough to make him reconsider the preconceptions that he almost certainly had had.
“Just from the fact that you love him so deeply, I can believe that,” Remus said, nodding his head. “I am considering it, joining the pack I mean,” he told the teenager.
“Really?” Harry asked excitedly; he had thought that he was going to have a lot more of a fight on his hands than that.
“Admittedly mostly for your sake, Harry,” Remus added, wanting to be truthful about his motivations. If Harry hadn’t been in the pack when Fenrir had come to him and offered him a place, then he wouldn’t have even been considering it as a possibility.
“My sake?” Harry questioned, unsure as to why the professor would do something like join the pack for him. He did want Lupin there, to become one of them, but he didn’t really believe it would be that life changing in any way for him; it was going to be a much bigger change for Lupin than it would be for anyone else.
“I knew your parents, I loved them very much,” Remus said, thinking fondly of Lily and James and their time together at school, how happy they had been. “I want to be in your life,” the Professor said truthfully. He did not see any use in lying about this, it was pointless to pretend that he was doing it for any other reason. From what Remus knew of Harry, he appreciated honesty.
“Oh… erm… right,” Harry said, not sure what to say to that. It was hard for him to process that anyone would do anything like that for him. He just couldn’t comprehend why he would matter that much to someone who barely knew him.
“I know you still don’t really know me, but I have known you since you were a baby,” Remus went on, feeling as if he needed to explain the reason behind the extent of his loyalty to Harry, why it was that he felt such an overwhelming need to be close to and protect the teenager.
“That’s a little strange to think about,” Harry admitted. He was starting to realise he knew very little about his Dad’s history, or his own really, and so that there were people that had known him that long was still a little odd.
Remus chuckled. “Yes, I would imagine so. But like I said, I am considering it,” he said once more. “Though, I make no promises,” he added, not wanting to commit himself to a decision that he hadn’t actually made yet.
“I can live with that, it’s a start,” Harry said happily, feeling confident that by the time summer came around he would have gotten agreement from the professor.
FGHP
Lunch time came around far too quickly for Romy’s liking, mainly because she was dreading the upcoming evening. She decided that she needed a distraction and that lunch in the Great Hall was not going to cut it, so instead she went somewhere she truly felt at home, the library.
Along the way she met Luna, who was equally looking to avoid the Great Hall, though for entirely different reasons. “People think I’m crazy,” she told the werewolf as they headed for the library together, “they don’t like me very much.”
“I think they are just getting crazy confused with not boring,” Romy said with a smile. “I happen to enjoy your particular brand of craziness anyway,” she added.
“You are a rather unique person, Romy,” Luna said with a dreamy smile on her face, “I am glad that we had a chance to meet each other.”
“Luna, you do know that we’re friends, right?," Romy asked seriously. "You can come and sit at the Slytherin table with Harry, Clay and me, we don’t mind; we like your company,” she said as they reached the library and went to take their usual table.
Unfortunately they were not the only students who had decided to skip lunch in favour of studying. The odious Granger girl was occupying the table next to theirs, her nose in an advanced Magical Creatures text that made Romy frown as she glanced over at the cover.
“I do hope you are here to actually study,” Granger said, lowering her book enough to glare at the two girls who had just arrived who were still chatting away to one another as they got out their books.
“Not that it is any of your business,” Romy retorted, “but yes, we were planning on studying.” She wasn’t sure what it was about the Gryffindor girl, but she found that she didn’t want anything to do with her; Romy wondered perhaps if she was simply being put off the idea of any Gryffindors by Ron and his cohorts, but she couldn’t help what she felt.
“I could help you,” Hermione suggested, closing her book and placing it on the table in front of her. “With your studying I mean.”
“Erm… thanks but no thanks,” Romy replied with a forced half smile. “Why would you even want to?” she asked after a few seconds when her curiosity simply got too much for her.
“I… I was just trying to be nice,” Hermione said a little huffily, and Romy narrowed her eyes suspiciously. She was just about to decline the offer once more, when Luna spoke.
“You can help me with Transfiguration, I think some wrackspurts got into my ears during the last lesson and now I can’t make heads or tails of it,” Luna said happily, moving a seat over and tapping the one she just vacated for Hermione to take.
Romy glared at Hermione as the older girl moved over to their table, smiling happily. Romy couldn’t help but glance at the book the other girl had been reading a little more closely; Hermione had, after all, placed it very close to her, as if she had wanted her to see it. Romy had read that particular text before, it had been one of the first things she had read when she had been brought into the Greyback pack. Mainly because it had a rather in depth section on werewolves.
To Hermione’s credit she did genuinely seem to be helping Luna, Romy noticed, explaining to concepts carefully and in great detail, but that didn’t mean that Romy liked the odd Gryffindor girl in the slightest. Instead of dwelling on Hermione’s unwelcome presence, Romy turned her attention to her own books and planning for an essay due the following week.
“There you are,” Clay said half an hour later, causing Romy to look up from her work and see her two pack brothers coming towards her.
“We were wondering where you got to,” Harry said sitting down next to her while Clayton sat opposite her, on the other side of Luna from Hermione.
“And it took you half an hour to work out I was in the library?” Romy asked with amusement. They really should have know that was the first place to look if she wasn’t where they expected.
“Well… no,” Harry admitted, with a chuckle, “we figured that out pretty quickly. But neither of us had any breakfast so…” he explained, his voice trailing off as he gave her an innocent smile.
“You were hungry,” Romy finished for him, shaking her head and tutting affectionately. “It’s fine,” she told him, “I’m glad to hear you ate and it gave me time to make good headway on this charms essay before you two got here to distract me.”
“Hello, Clayton,” Hermione said, giving him a smile.
Clay turned slowly as though realising, for the first time, that the bushy haired girl was there. “Erm, hi,” he said uncertainly, before turning his attention back to Romy. “We got you something to eat,” he told her, handing over a couple of sandwiches which he had wrapped carefully in a napkin.
“It’s so sweet that you look after her,” Luna said happily, looking between the three werewolves with a dreamy smile on her face. She loved watching how they were with each other.
“If only they’d look after themselves too, then I could stop worrying about them,” Romy said, accepting the sandwiches from her cousin gratefully. As Romy went to take them, however, Clay used her grip on them to pull her forward and press his lips to hers.
She hadn’t been expecting it and therefore she put up very little resistance when Clayton used his free hand to cup the back of her head, deepening the kiss. It wasn’t until Harry stood up and started cheering them on did she realise what she was doing and with whom; the moment she did, she pushed him away.
“You complete arse!” Romy exclaimed, slapping Clayton hard enough across the face that the sound of it practically echoed off the walls. She snatched up the sandwiches and glared at him for a few seconds, before apparently deciding to ignore him in favour of trying to burn a hole through the table with her eyes.
“Was it worth it?” Harry asked with a huge grin as Clay, still in a daze, raised his fingers to his lips and then to his rapidly reddening cheek.
“Totally,” he said, breaking into a smile. He wasn’t sure what had compelled him to do such a thing, but when her fingers had brushed against his as he had handed her her lunch, and she had smiled at him gratefully… he just hadn’t been able to resist.
“Well it’s never happening again,” Romy snapped, grabbing up her quill from the desk and stabbing it into the inkwell. “Ever!” she added fiercely. “And I swear if you try that again,” she went on, spinning on her chair enough to face him, stabbing at him with the quill in her hand, completely oblivious to the spreading ink blots she was creating on his clothes, “I’ll make sure that you lose those good looks you rate so highly.”
“Ah, Romy, you don’t mean that,” Clayton said with a teasing smile, loving how feisty she could be. “You know you love me really.”
“No, Clayton, I don’t,” Romy said, her temper fraying, feeling tired of reiterating the point. “You are a spoilt brat who believes he should get whatever he wants. Well you won’t ever be getting me. And don’t think for a second that I won’t be telling my Dad about this at the weekend,” she added for good measure.
“Romy,” Clayton said, not understanding why she was so upset. “It was just a kiss…” he said, his chest aching when he saw tears in her eyes. He really hadn’t meant to hurt her, he had just wanted her to see how much she affected him.
“No, it wasn’t,” Romy snapped, grabbing her bag and storming from the library. Clayton looked to Harry, asking him silently what he had done wrong.
“Wait here, I’ll go and talk to her,” Harry said to his friend, leaving behind his belongings and going after Romy.
He found her just around the corner from the library, back against the wall, crying. He didn’t quite understand what was wrong, why she had reacted so badly to a kiss, but he knew that something had to be very seriously wrong for her to react like this.
“Romy…” Harry began as he leant against the wall beside her.
“I’m sorry,” she said before Harry could carry on.
“Why are you sorry?” Harry asked; he certainly didn’t think that she had done anything to apologise for at all, let alone to him. He was just worried about her, that was all.
“I over reacted, I shouldn’t have slapped him,” Romy said quickly, shaking her head, tears still falling down her face. She had hit Clayton over the head numerous times, it was something quite normal for the pair of them, but she had never slapped him before.
“Oh, he didn’t mind,” Harry assured her, shrugging it off. Clay had said it himself, that even despite being slapped he thought it was worth it; though Harry knew his friend well enough to know that he would be beating himself up over upsetting Romy. “I think he’s confused more than anything,” he added, thinking that he was rather confused himself.
“It was my first kiss,” Romy said in little more than a whisper, somewhat ashamed to admit it. It was weird that considering everything she had been through she had never had a proper kiss before.
She knew that she shouldn’t have got so upset over the whole thing but when she imagined her first kiss it was always sweet, romantic, everything was perfect. Sure she had always imagined her first kiss with Clayton, though recently Draco had starred in some of her daydreams too, but it had always been the two of them alone, somewhere quiet and not spur of the moment recklessness.
“Oh,” Harry said blankly, understanding sinking in. He had never thought about Romy never having been kissed before. She was like his little sister and thinking about her kissing anyone was a little weird, though now he thought about it he could understand why she had never been kissed.
“Why did he have to do that?” Romy asked, sounding utterly hopeless and deflated. “Things were going fine and he had to go and do that,” she said, wiping the tears from her cheeks angrily.
“Because he’s an idiot and completely in love with you,” Harry pointed out, trying to cheer her up; though, judging by the look she gave him when he said this, Harry knew that his attempts to make light of the situation were not going to work.
“He doesn’t love me, Harry,” Romy said firmly, sounding mildly annoyed. “If he did he wouldn’t have taken away my choice like that,” she pointed out.
“Your choice?” Harry asked, slightly confused as to how Clayton took away her choice.
“I’ve never had a choice in anything, my family, being a werewolf, losing my virginity, joining a pack… none of it was my choice. I’m not saying that I’m not happy now, I am, but… I just wanted something to be my choice,” Romy explained, needing Harry to understand where she was coming from.
“Then he’s a fucking idiot and I’ll punch him too,” Harry said, definitely starting to see things from his pack sister's point of view. He knew what it was like to not be given much of a choice in your own life and he didn’t want that for her, any more than he did for himself. “I’m sorry, Romy, I didn’t realise that it was your first kiss and in Clay’s defence, I don’t think that he did either,” he explained, sure that his best friend would have taken a lot more care to make it something truly special if he had known.
“That’s true,” Romy admitted with a sigh. It didn’t mean that she was any less upset about having had her first kiss basically stolen from her, but it did make her feel a little bit less angry at Clayton, for his actions. “But you probably shouldn’t punch him,” she added, thinking that another fist fight between Harry and Clayton was about the last thing any of them needed.
“Maybe you could just tell him that he stole your first kiss from you, maybe he will feel like such a jerk he will go right ahead and punch himself,” Harry suggested, smiling at her and she couldn’t help but smile back, knowing that this was true. Romy couldn’t believe that Clayton loved her but she knew he cared about her and as such he’d be devastated to know what he had done.
“Don’t tell him, please,” Romy pleaded, turning to look at Harry with a serious expression. “I feel so stupid already.”
“You don’t have to feel stupid,” Harry said. “My first kiss was with a man more than twenty years my senior.”
“Yes but you are going to be with him forever,” Romy said, looking at Harry fondly. Sometimes she really did envy the love that he shared with the Alpha, even if it was volatile on occasion and wasn’t always perfect. Though, then again, no love was ever perfect but she still wanted something close to what the Alpha pair had.
“Well then maybe you should just get together with Clayton and stay with him forever,” Harry suggested with a wink and a teasing smile.
“Not helpful, Harry,” Romy said with an exasperated sigh, giving him a shove. She couldn’t believe that he could actually joke about such a thing.
“I know, I’m sorry. I do think you’re wrong though, about him loving you, I think you are the one thing Clayton has ever been focused on for more than a couple of hours. He’s not stopped talking about you since we joined the pack; he’s obsessed with you and has been for months,” Harry told her, wanting to make her see what he could see; he had known Clayton for years and never once had been shown the kind of interest in anyone the way he did with Romy. “He told me he loves you more than brownies.”
“I’m flattered,” Romy said drily, not loving that the love Clayton apparently had for her was as superficial as his love of sugary snacks.
“You should be, he really loves brownies. He loves brownies more than me,” Harry said with a mock sigh of sadness. Sniffling a little, Romy elbowed him in the ribs, giving a little giggle.
“Do you want these?” Romy asked, offering Harry the sandwiches, “I’m really not hungry anymore.”
Harry shook his head, frowning at her. “Keep them in your bag,” he said, “you might get hungry later.” She hadn’t eaten any more breakfast than he and Clayton had, so she would almost certainly be hungry before dinner.
“Thank you,” she said, turning to give him a kiss to the cheek. There were no words to express how grateful she was for Harry, he truly was like a big brother to her, she didn’t know what she would do without him most of the time. He could be silly, stupid and exactly like Clayton but then there were times, where, like her, he would be quiet and simply sit and read. Harry was good for both of them.
“What for?” Harry asked, thinking that he had done nothing that he wouldn’t have done for anyone in their family.
“For listening to me,” she said with a gentle smile. That Harry had no idea how much he helped her was endearing, she loved that about him.
“No worries, we’re family,” Harry said with a dismissive shrug. “I’m always going to be here for you,” he promised. “And also because I doubt that is going to be the last time that Clayton upsets you.”
“You are far too good a best friend for him,” Romy told him. She knew that the two boys loved each other, and in some ways Harry made Clayton’s life difficult too, but it made her feel a little better to mock her cousin for the moment.
“Oh, I know,” Harry said with a grin. “But I make up for it by doing extra stupid things like knocking him out of trees and breaking his legs,” he added happily, thinking fondly of all the trouble he and Clay had gotten into over the years.
“Can we put something in his brownies, turn him into a mouse for a few hours?” Romy suggested, thinking that it would certainly make her feel better to make Clayton suffer for a little while. He deserved it after the stunt he had pulled in the library, Harry smiled at her, nodding his head.
“I wouldn’t object to that,” Harry said grinning from ear to ear, imagining a little Clayton mouse… though it would mean he would be able to get into all sorts of trouble being that small and mischievous, so perhaps it wasn’t the best idea.
“Or we could turn his hair pink,” Romy suggested, remembering how they had done that once before to Micha and that had been fairly amusing; though she was sure that Clayton wouldn’t mind that too much, probably wouldn’t be embarrassed in the slightest.
“Make him walk around in one of your skirts,” Harry suggested, rather enjoying the game they had going of thinking up ways to get some revenge on Clay.
“Make him snog Hermione,” Romy said, though on second thoughts she didn’t think that she’d like that very much, though it would serve Clayton right.
“Tell Jenson that he kissed you,” Harry suggested, knowing that his pack brother really would be in trouble if she did that. Jenson wasn’t likely to take it well that Clay had full on kissed his precious little girl.
“I want him embarrassed, not dead,” Romy said with a laugh, she might have threatened to do so, but she had been so angry; she would keep it as a backup option for now, in case Clay upset her again.
Harry laughed. “I’m sure we can think of something to get him back,” he assured her.
“Are you two done talking?” Clay asked, as he poked his head out from the library. “Because Hermione’s staring is really starting to freak me out,” he told them, giving an exaggerated shudder as he glanced over his shoulder towards the table where Hermione and Luna were still sat.
“I am sure you’ll survive,” Harry told his friend with a roll of his eyes, shooing him away with a wave of his hand. “You upset Romy, you pay the price,” Harry said with a grin. Clay frowned, not liking the idea of Romy and Harry ganging up against him but knowing that he had done wrong and would have to deal with it for the moment.
“It’s okay, Harry,” Romy said, with a smug expression. “We can go back and protect Clayton from being looked at too hard. I can imagine how that would be scary.”
“She IS scary,” Clay said a little dramatically. He hated the way she was constantly staring at him, battering her eyelashes in his direction and smiling. He would have rather had Fenrir flirt him with than Granger.
“Practically terrifying,” Harry muttered sarcastically, nudging Romy in the ribs as they headed back into the library, making his pack sister laugh and Clay pout.
“She doesn’t fancy you,” Clay said in a huff, crossing his arms over his chest making Harry and Romy laugh at him.
“No, but you fancy me and that must be worse,” Romy said with a glare at her cousin. “How would you like it if Hermione kissed you without your permission?” she asked, hoping to make him realise just how out of order he had been.
“You’re comparing me to Hermione?” Clayton asked incredulously. “Seriously?”
“I’m just asking you to think how you would feel if Hermione kissed you,” Romy pointed out, not feeling sorry for Clayton in the least. Harry was now standing between the two of them feeling like a bit of third wheel and not knowing what to do with himself.
“I’m sorry, okay. I promise you that I won’t kiss you again unless you ask me to,” Clayton said, not wanting to fight with his pack sister any more.
“You’ll be waiting a long time, like for the rest of your life long,” Romy said pointedly, crossing her arms over her chest and giving her cousin a rather pointed glare.
“It’s okay, I can wait,” Clayton told her. “You’re the girl for me, you’re worth waiting a lifetime for.”
Romy decided to just ignore his comment, as she lead their way back towards the library table. She didn’t understand why he was so obsessed with her; she was nothing special, she wasn’t beautiful, Micha was probably more feminine than she was and she had more baggage than the entire of Ravenclaw house put together but it was clear that nothing she could say or do would dissuade him.
Clayton was determinedly stubborn on the matter, no matter how much Romy denied the fact, he knew that he was in love with her. Romy just hoped that some other girl caught his attention soon so that she could be left alone. She hated being the centre of attention with anyone, even with her parents. At least Jenson and Callie knew this and rarely fussed over her. Clayton just hadn’t got that memo yet.
FGHP
"Loitering, I see," Remus said with amusement as he came out of the Great Hall after dinner and found Harry, Clayton and Romy huddled at the foot of the marble staircase, clearly putting off what each of them had to do this evening.
"Of course," Harry said, turning to the professor and grinning widely, glad that Remus had listened to him and hadn’t gone to the headmaster's office at the appointed time. Remus couldn’t help but notice that the youngest of them, Romy, was looking positively terrified, her face ashen. Clayton was standing at her side, an arm around her shoulder in a clear attempt to comfort her.
"Shall we walk up together?" Remus suggested with slight amusement in his tone at Harry’s brazen attitude to the headmaster. He had never known a student like him, not even James had been quite so tenacious.
"But I am not nearly as late as I wanted to be," Harry said with a mocking pout that made Clay and Romy laugh, though the sound that had come from the young girl was fairly half hearted to say the least.
"I believe that we are late enough," Remus said with a fond smile, unable to believe how much like James, Harry really was, it was astounding to see the similarities.
"Ruin my fun why don't you," Harry said, grinning at his professor briefly before turning back to his pack siblings. "You'll be fine," he said to Romy, placing a kiss on her temple. "No stressing," he insisted with a smile before looking to Clayton with a stern glare. "No more upsetting Romy or you'll have me to deal with," Harry threatened.
Romy had to hold back a giggle because, even though Harry had tried to sound tough and intimidating, he actually just sounded cute, trying to sound like the Alpha really didn’t work for Harry, he was far too little. The professor seemed to think be thinking along the same lines because he was smiling at Harry fondly.
"Never mind that," Clayton said dismissively. "Whatever you're doing with Dumbledore, be careful; I mean it. If you get hurt..."
"You'll be grumpy?" Harry suggested, grinning at his best friend. Clayton did a far better impression of a stern Alpha than Harry ever could.
"Extremely," Clayton said pointedly.
"He'd also likely be severely injured," Romy interjected, sounding far too happy at this prospect. "He's already in trouble with the Alpha as it is."
"Don't remind me," Clayton said with a groan.
"Harry," Remus said gently. "Shall we?" he suggested. He was enjoying watching the easy banter between the young werewolves, but he really didn't want to put Dumbledore in any worse of a bad mood, given that that wouldn't really help either Harry or him get what they wanted from this meeting.
"Sure," Harry said, nodding his head. "I'll see you later guys," he said to his pack siblings with a small smile and a wave, before heading off up the marble staircase with Remus at his side.
"Why is Clayton in trouble with Fenrir?" the professor asked curiously, once the two of them were out of earshot of Romy and Clay.
"We had a fight," Harry explained. "It was before Fen came to your office; it's why Clay made a run for it and Fenrir was talking about needing to punish him. Fenrir really is very protective of me."
"I see," Remus mused. "Does this happen often, Fenrir punishing the pack members?"
"No," Harry said truthfully. "I don't really want Clay punished this time as it was me who started the fight, I mean, I threw the first punch. Though, he did give as good as he got."
"How will Fenrir punish him?" Remus asked, his brow furrowing with worry. "He is so young."
"Fen won't hurt him," Harry said, trying to sound reassuring. "I told you he is a good Alpha. He will probably just give Clay a warning and remind him that's he's meant to be protecting me not fighting me."
"Boys will be boys," Remus said gently, not entirely approving of the fact that Clay was facing punishment from the fierce Alpha male.
"Clay takes that to the extreme," Harry said with amusement. "Don't let it put you off the pack, it's rare that anyone has to be punished."
"It won't be a factor in my decision making then," Remus said. He had been around packs before he knew that sometimes it was required for an Alpha to punish pack members so as to keep order in the ranks. "Are you prepared for this evening?" the professor asked after a few moments of silence; he knew that it was not going to be easy, however the evening panned out.
"I guess," Harry admitted. "I am kind of nervous. I mean, I get to see my Dad again and I never thought I would get to, so I am excited for that, but..."
"I think you need to prepare yourself, Harry," Remus said sadly, seriously wondering if it was a good idea for Harry to do this. "I am not entirely sure what Albus is capable of but it has been five months."
"I know," Harry said, his voice every bit as sad as Remus'. In all honesty he had been trying not to think about that. Five months of captivity would negatively affect anyone, let alone someone under Dumbledore's thumb, and Draco had mentioned that he believed Severus was being tortured. "As long as he's alive, I'll be fine." Even as Harry said this, he wasn't sure that it was true but he would be brave, he would face it head on and make his Dad proud.
Remus looked at the teenager, recognising the false bravado of James in the way he spoke. He wasn't sure if he should be proud or concerned.
"Just do me one favour, professor," Harry requested as they reached the stone gargoyle that kept guard over the entrance to the headmaster's office. "Don't leave me alone with him."
Remus looked at Harry with concern and could see how scared he was about what was going to happen this evening. Remus sighed; he could see that Harry liked to put on a strong front but beneath it all he was still on a fifteen year old boy who wanted his Dad back. He just as scared about the world as any other teenager would be and most boys his age didn't have the fate of the wizarding world on their shoulders or a relationship with an Alpha werewolf to maintain. Harry was a rather extraordinary teenager.
"I will be with you as long as you want me there," Remus assured him, with a fond, comforting smile as the gargoyle began to move, permitting them entrance to the headmaster's office.
"Thank you, professor," Harry said with a slightly forced smile as they reached the office door.
Remus went to knock but Harry beat him to it, turning the handle, opening the door and walking straight inside. Remus shook his head in exasperation before following the teenager inside.
"I was under the impression that it would just be the two of us, Harry," Dumbledore said, peering over the top of his glasses, where he was sad behind his desk. He was clearly not happy that Remus was joining them that evening. "You said you'd come alone and on time," he said tersely. He didn't think that it was a good idea to take Remus back to Grimmauld Place. Sirius was in a bad way, volatile even; it would be bad enough with Harry there, without Remus there as well.
"Actually, Sir, the agreement was that I wouldn't bring my... what did you call them... lackeys," Harry said smugly. "You didn't tell me to come alone and, with all due respect, I don't trust you."
Dumbledore gave a tired sigh, giving Harry a rather disparaging look. He had rather hoped that they were past such childish games; apparently they were not. "I do not think it wise..."
"I don't care what you think is wise," Harry snapped, not feeling anywhere close to being in the mood to listen to Dumbledore’s feeble attempts to manipulate him. "You've given me no reason to trust you. I'm surprised that you thought I'd go anywhere alone with you."
"I am doing you a favour. I don't need to take you to see Severus," Dumbledore said impatiently, getting to his feet.
"And I don't have to help you destroy Voldemort," Harry countered, with a dismissive wave of his hand. "But I thought we had a deal."
"Indeed," Dumbledore admitted reluctantly, his voice clearly showing his annoyance as he glared at the teenager, pointedly ignoring Remus’ presence. "So be it. Are you ready?" he demanded to know.
Harry gave a curt nod. "Take me to my Dad," he said confidently.
FGHP
“Where are you meeting them?” Clayton asked Romy, once Harry and Lupin had gone their own way, leaving the two of them alone.
“Jennifer and Adam are coming to the castle; we were just going to walk around the grounds I think,” Romy said, wringing her hands nervously, she wasn’t looking forward to this evening, hoping that it would be the last time that she saw her biological parents.
“You don’t have to see them, you know,” Clay reminded her.
“I am aware, largely thanks to you telling me that every time we talk about them,” Romy said with a wry smile. She knew he was trying to be supportive but it wasn’t actually helping much; she had to get some closure with regards to that part of her life, and that meant seeing them at least once more.
“Do you forgive me for what I did at lunchtime?” Clayton asked the question coming out of nowhere. Romy looked to her cousin and sighed, not having expected the sudden u-turn in the conversation.
“Clay…” she began, only to be interrupted.
“I know I was a jerk but I can’t help myself,” Clay told her earnestly. “You’re all I think about…”
“Clay, stop,” Romy said firmly. “I forgive you okay, just don’t let it happen again,” she said, not wanting to listen to her cousin’s nervous babbling when she was nervous enough all on her own.
“I’m going to make it up to you,” Clay said with determination. “Whatever you want; even if what you want is more books, I’ll get them for you; someone to carry your bag for you, I’ll do it; breakfast in bed… made by house elves, not me. You name it and it’s yours.”
“I appreciate that but I just want things to go back to normal,” Romy said with a sigh. “If things could go back to normal and we could just go home that would be wonderful.”
“You hate it here that much?” Clayton asked, he had been of the assumption that Romy had rather liked being at the school, learning every day, the homework and not to mention the rather impressive library; however, apparently he had been mistaken.
“I hate that we’re always in danger, I hate that Dumbledore is manipulating Harry, I hate that we’re away from home and our parents, I hate that we have very little choice in anything we do here… it’s just… this place, it isn’t home.”
“I know what you mean; there are so many secrets," Clay said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "It’s making my head hurt trying to keep up with who we can tell stuff to and who we can’t. I hate that we have to lie, I hate that it isn’t simple. I just want to go home too but even that isn’t great because I know my Dad is hiding stuff from me as well. We’re meant to be a pack and I honestly think we’re falling to pieces.”
“We’re not falling to pieces, Clay,” Romy said with a sigh. “No one is going to let the pack break; we’re a family and that is all there is to it. Things are just complicated right now. At least we get to see everyone at the weekend, it’s two days away, then we can be with our family.”
“Talking of family,” Clay grumbled, realising that they had got a little distracted. Whether he liked it or not, Romy was going to spend the evening with her biological parents.
“If you mean Jennifer and Adam, then you know that they aren’t my family,” Romy reminded him with a scowl. “Though you are right, I should go.”
“They’ll be waiting for you,” Clay said unhappily. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?” he offered, knowing that he would go with her if she wanted but also knowing that she wouldn’t want him there, not for this.
“Go and enjoy your evening off babysitting duties,” Romy said with a smile. “You have no one to protect for a few hours; maybe you could even get your homework done.”
“Can I at least kiss you goodbye?” Clay asked with a pout at the suggestion he do his homework.
“No,” Romy said sternly. “But you can hug me,” she added with a sigh. Clayton smiled, opening his arms to her and she went into them, wrapping her arms around his waist. Clay clung to her tightly, inhaling the soft, sweet scent of her hair, lingering in the hug a little longer than he should have done but Romy said nothing.
“Be careful,” Clay said as he released her, “please. I couldn’t stand it if you were hurt.”
“I’m not Harry,” Romy said sweetly to her cousin. “No one wants to hurt me.”
“I don’t care," Clay said bluntly, "I still don’t want you to take that chance. I’ll stay close by, if you need anything or if it gets too much for you then come find me; I’ll wait right here until you come back.”
“You’re cute when you worry,” Romy said with a smile, standing on her tip toes and placing a gentle kiss to Clayton’s cheek. “Thank you.”
“Anything for the girl I love,” Clayton said in a whisper, with a smile on his face as he watched Romy head for the door which lead to the castle grounds. He raised one hand up to gently touch where she had kissed him.
Clayton remained standing there for a moment, no idea what exactly he was supposed to do with himself now that both of his pack siblings had gone off to take care of things. He wished he had a good distraction of his own, because he knew that he was going to spend the whole evening worrying about both of them.
It bothered him a little that out of the three of them he didn’t have anything of his own; granted Romy wished she didn’t have to deal with her biological parents but it was still more fun than doing homework. Harry on the other hand was working his great plan to find answers and not involving them; this bothered Clayton a lot because he was meant to be with Harry to help him, support him and protect him.
If he was constantly sitting on the sidelines then he wasn’t sure how he was expected to do anything that he was meant to. There wasn’t much he could do about it tonight but tomorrow he was going to be having words with Harry, he wouldn’t be going off alone or even with Professor Lupin again.
“Mr Danes,” a sickly sweet voice said from behind him. “Loitering around after hours,” Umbridge said as she came down the marble staircase. Clay turned to glare at her; the toad like woman looked like she was wrapped in candy floss, the amount of pink she was wearing.
“It isn’t out of hours,” Clay snapped at her angrily.
“Do you have a good reason for standing around in the corridors at this time in the evening?” Umbridge asked, a snide smile on her face. “No, I didn’t think so,” she went on, barely even giving him a chance to respond. “Detention, I think. And seeing as you clearly have nothing better to do this evening, you can serve it now.”
“What?!” Clayton exclaimed. “How is that fair, I didn’t even do anything!” he shouted,.“It isn’t even out of hours, you crazy old bat!”
“Well raising to your voice to, and insulting, a teacher is certainly sufficient grounds,” she told him primly, looking rather pleased with herself. “Follow me, Mr Danes,” she instructed, walking passed him in the direction of her office.
“No,” he said angrily, crossing his arms over his chest and steadfastly refusing to move. This was when he realised that Umbridge was not alone, just as two sets of hands grabbed him, one taking each arm, dragging him along the corridor in the wake of Umbridge and her sickly sweet perfume.

Please spare a moment and leave us your thoughts. How do you think that their respective evenings are going to play out?
Review Responses:
Delia Cerrano - Glad you are enjoying Micha and Damon and yes, Damon is doing an excellent job of taking care of Micha. We are actually getting very close to a update on things with Severus, as you can see from the end of this chapter, so just hold on a tiny bit longer. Lukas is into Nell ;) Don't worry, I know there is rather a lot to keep track of.
Phoenix-rob - Thank you, that is always nice to hear.
littlepanther - Yes, Fen is very good at doing grumpy. And I have so much love for Damon and Micha, they are just perfectly adorable. It is pretty funny seeing people's reactions to knowing that Fen was Damon's first, because we always kind of knew that that was the case, it just made sense. I suppose we have a lot of both their histories that we haven't written out for you guys yet; though we hope to show you some glimpses of that in time. And thank you, yes we are both working on settling into our respective new homes.
DragonStar01 - thank you, it is good to be back. It was so strange not updating or even writing for several weeks, and not at all what we are used to. Glad you are enjoying Micha and Damon.
Gaia - Thank you, good to hear.
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Fragmented Soul