20 July 1995
Harry woke with the taste of blood still in his mouth. More than a week since his encounter with Fenrir Greyback and still it haunted his dreams. He'd talked to Remus but even the older werewolf failed to completely understand.
While the Beast was a subconscious part of Harry's mental makeup, it wasn't the only part. The human subconscious remained just as strong as the Beast. When he was young, the hunted for food - for survival. Once he'd started at Hogwarts he still hunted but only for the thrill of the hunt. He rarely killed the prey he stalked. In the graveyard, he'd killed in defence of his own life. It was bloody and brutal but the two subconscious sides were in harmony. Now the Beast saw the clean purity of killing his enemy in a planned duel while the human Harry was feeling freaked out over what could be considered premeditated homicide - and using his own teeth to do so! One would think that Harry would accept that Fenrir had to die - and he did - but something was still bothering Harry. It might not have been logical but there it was.
Harry rolled over and tried to find a more comfortable position. Logically, Harry knew Greyback forced this himself and it didn't count as murder in a magical court. But that didn't seem to help stop the dreams.
The other Alphas had expressed their own shock the next morning after changing back to human form. Ian and Sara Davies of Mic tíre na hÉireann invited Harry and Remus to join them with their daughter for a late breakfast in a small inn some miles from the gathering place. Ian said he was surprised how quickly Fenrir lost the fight.
"I suspect lad that Fenrir wanted to end you quick. Fighting against any other challenger and he'd have taken his time, worn you down and bleed you out as a strategy. For him to rush in like that, showed his contempt for you as a wolf; as a fighter. He took a chance and you made him pay for it. If he'd succeeded to end you that quick it would have given him all the Packs united behind him."
"Most of us only know to fight with tooth and claw when the change is on us," Sara added. "Fenrir was strong and powerful and fought well in the past. Against most other wolves he would have survived that rush if not succeeded Against most humans his strength would have given him the victory. But you my young wolf, you have the strengths of both at once. That gave you the victory last night. But just beware, your next opponent may learn from this and not underestimate you so badly."
That thought was enough to cause Harry to flip over to his other side and look out the window at the rising sun over London. With a sigh he decided to get up. Maybe a long day and going to bed exhausted tonight would get him some dream-free sleep tomorrow night.
Harry wandered down the stairs in the quiet, early dawn morning. His sensitive ears told him no one else was up but he could hear Fluffy sleeping in the parlour. His recently purchased Fifth year Runes book in hand, Harry decided to join his newest pack member and get ahead at the same time. Padma would be impressed.
However, to his surprise, Fluffy wasn't alone. Sirius was sound asleep on the couch with Fluffy curled up on the floor next to him. But that wasn't the real surprise. Curled up asleep on Fluffy's side was little Cassie. One of Fluffy's heads was wrapped around her to prevent the baby's fall. One of the other heads looked up at Harry's arrival.
"Hard as marshmallows you are," Harry mockingly whispered. "The ferocious hell hound!" Fluffy's response was to yawn and go back to sleep. Harry snickered, his earlier feeling of self-pity at least momentarily forgotten in his amusement.
He changed direction and went to the kitchen. A mug of hot chocolate suddenly seemed a brilliant idea.
....
4 August 1995
Diagon Alley was packed full of witches, wizards, and children. The annual rush to procure books, wands, and other supplies for Hogwarts had started. For merchants, the August weeks leading up to September 1st could be as lucrative as the Yule season. Signs for sales and garish displays were the rule. However, it was not the school shopping that was garnering the most attention. That was reserved for the brightly coloured shop that had just opened across the square from Gringotts Bank. The store proudly proclaimed itself, "Marauders Magical Entertainment"
The store occupied a rather large three floor structure but what captured people attention was the front of the building's top two floors was occupied by a giant mirror. A mirror that was showing them scenes of the Alley itself, a broom flight through a Scottish Loch, a Quidditch match, and scenes from the third Tri-Wizard Tournament event. They were mesmerized much like a tourist standing for the first time in New York City's Time Square (where Remus pulled the idea) but many of these people had never seen a telly or its equivalent before. So while on a much smaller scale, the effect was magnified many times more.
The shop was packed with people excitedly examining the magical mirrors. The mirrors came in various sizes but a Muggle would recognize the proportions as matching a mundane wide-screen television. The largest mirrors were eight feet wide with the smallest down to a foot. Several smiling young witches and wizards dressed in matching MME robes of dark blue with silver trim were enthusiastically helping answer people's questions and making sales. Buyers this first weekend were being offered free 'premium' service for the first year. This fact, added to preview during the Tournament, made the Magical Mirrors the 'must have' item of the year.
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