The Wolf and the Raven

Ch 41 - Happenings in Hospital

Branwen's head shot up. "Oh, please, Madam Pomfrey. I'll do a dozen detentions, but please let me keep coming."

"We'll see," Pomfrey pursed her lips. Then she turned to the boys. "And what are you still doing here?"

Their eyes darted from Branwen to Pomfrey. Deciding quickly that they feared Pomfrey more than Branwen, they scurried from the room. Branwen tugged on Pomfrey's robes though, and whispered something that had the woman biting back a tight smile. "Mr. Lupin," she called. Remus was the last one out, pausing halfway through the door. "Miss Potter tells me that you owe her. That she is expecting...." the Healer quirked a brow, "a return on her gifts?"

Remus grinned at the girl in the bed, then nodded. He darted out the room, and Branwen laid back on the pillows, smiling with satisfaction.

Remus was back in less than half-an-hour. Branwen looked up in surprise. Her assumption that he must have run all the way was confirmed by his sweaty face and heaving chest. She giggled, "You didn't have to set any speed records, you know."

"Yeah," was all he could manage as he pulled up a chair beside his friend. He set a thermos of tea and a handful of chocolate cauldrons on her bedside table. On his lap was The Tales of Beedle the Bard. "Is this right?"

She smiled and nodded. When she took a sip of the tea though, she grimaced. Who could possibly mess up tea? The answer was obviously Remus.

He leaned forward anxiously. "Is it bad?"

"Of course not!" She managed another swallow before setting it aside. "You know, Rem, something....something strange happened when I was out there in the woods."

He smirked. "Something stranger than crash landing in the middle of the Forbidden Forest while playing Quidditch late at night?"

She blushed. "Yeah. I mean, yeah, this was pretty weird."

He waited for her continue.

"Well, I was knocked out when I fell. And when I came to, these, uh, these wolves found me."

"Wolves? Did they hurt you?"

She shook her head. "They were....intelligent. They came close enough to keep me warm. And, and one of them – a female I think – she brought me back my broom."

"They were intelligent?" Remus frowned.

"And they weren't werewolves," she added quickly. "I mean, it wasn't a full moon, of course. And their tails and snouts were all wrong. They were like regular wolves, but....but different."

Remus scratched at his arm. It must have been his jumper that Branwen had borrowed the day before, because he was wearing it now. "Dumbledore told me before I came here that there was a pack living in the Forbidden Forest. They're not true werewolves, but they're descendants of some. He said that they were the result of two werewolves....you know....mating, while they were in wolf-form."

Branwen's head hung and Remus thought maybe she was crying when her shoulders began to shake. But then he heard a small giggle. His eyes widened when she lifted her head and tried to cover her mouth with her hand. Still, the giggling slipped out.

"What's so funny about that!" Remus snapped.

Branwen sobered, but only a little. "It's just that....well, how were they born? I mean, did the female have a litter of puppies while she was in human-form? And did she nurse them? All five of them at once? And then did she just throw them into the forest? Were they furry when she gave birth? It's pretty absurd if you think about it."

Remus was once again amused, confused, and impressed by her view of his condition. Accidentally mating with another wolf had been added to Remus' list of fears ever since Dumbledore told him about the pups. He had never considered that the minutiae of werewolf reproduction would be an odd, even humorous situation.