"You look like Hermione," Harry said, mouth feeling dry again as he pushed himself up weakly to a sitting position.

Ron's head snapped up and he surveyed Harry for a minute before he reached into the backpack Harry hadn't yet noticed beside him and withdrew and apple and water bottle.

"Here." He handed them over and Harry went after the water first, feeling as though he'd gone to sleep in a dusty desert.

"Thanks." He took a large bite of the apple, aware that Ron was still watching him, and pointed to the book. "Reading about me? Usually that's Hermione's job."

"Well she's not here is she, and I can't very well tell her can I?" Ron raised his brow then and said, "This is Bill's old Defense book." He pulled another book out of the backpack then and handed it to Harry. "That one is one of the Magical Creature books Bill left behind when he moved to Romania. I haven't looked at that one yet, but I thought you'd like to."

Harry found the section about werewolves and tried to concentrate as he read, but he was still exhausted. Instead he turned his attention back to Ron and asked, "Learn anything interesting?"

"It says werewolves run in packs, just like normal wolves. And there's something else you're not going to like." Ron paused, and Harry swallowed another bite of the apple.

"I'm fairly sure I won't like anything about being a- a werewolf."

Ron nodded. "Yeah, well this is something that's near enough to the danger of You-Know-Who so I figure you ought to have a look anyway." Ron set the book on the floor between them and turned it so that Harry could see, before pointing to a symbol and two paragraphs below it.

"I think I've found who shot the arrow at you," Ron said in a serious tone. Harry's eyes flickered up to meet Ron's briefly before he turned his attention to the book again. The picture of the symbol was a rock engraving featuring an arrow crossed with a sword, and a plant behind it.

Voice too dry to read it out loud, Harry read silently, ‘Originating in Albania is the Ordinis Latro Flagari, loosely translated: Order of the Wolf Hunter. This clandestine group has been around since the first reported werewolf attacks in Albania in the 1300's. While little is known about this secret order, legend purports that a member of the Ziberi family made a pact with the devil in order to gain the strength necessary to defeat an invading enemy force that threatened his young female lover, although it is unknown which family said young woman was from.

In an ironic turn of events, the strength given to the young Ziberi was that of a werewolf, and he turned and killed his affianced during the first full moon after his transformation. The young woman's family vowed to avenge her death, but was not able before the beast had bitten several children in the town, and moved on to the next village, ashamed of what he had done after the full moon had faded. Disgusted with himself young Ziberi traveled as far and fast as he could away from his pursuers as well as those he had bitten. Little else is known about the matter except that many years after Ordinis Latro Flagari was formed, they found and killed Ziberi by decapitation. This secret order is supposedly still around today, although none have heard anything about it or it's members save for scattered werewolf killings across the world by decapitation, and aconite poisoning.'

"Great," Harry muttered, pushing the book away from himself and rubbing his weary eyes. "Another few pounds on my head. Wonder which one will get to me first. The Flagari people or Voldemort."

"My bet is the Order of the Wolf."

Harry and Ron's heads snapped up to find Ethan standing in the doorway. Somehow he had gotten in unnoticed as neither of them had seen the door open.

"You- who are you? You can't barge in to my-"

"Your shed?" Ethan let out a low growl then at Ron's protests to let him know he was not to be toyed with, and Ron closed his mouth tightly.

"What are you doing here? Is it time again?" Harry asked, wary of another long night of being exposed to the full moon.

"No. Not yet." Ethan knelt down next to Harry then to assess his charge. "You need to rest though, because tonight, we run."

"Run?" Ron asked, finding his voice again.

Ethan turned with a glare at Ron, who closed his mouth again, and then back to Harry.

"The Flagari Order was after a Were in Surrey when you were bitten," Ethan said directly to Harry, ignoring Ron entirely. "Some of their kind distinguish between Weres who have spilled human blood and those who haven't, and won't attack the newly bitten, although they will track them. The one who shot at you the night you ran isn't that kind. He shoots to kill, and is still tracking you. He just came in to Ottery St. Catchpole this afternoon."

"How do you know?" Harry asked.

"I went into town to see if there were reports of the howling and saw him."

Harry and Ron looked at each other for a moment and then back up to Ethan. "How do you know what he looks like?" Harry asked, biting his lip. He wanted to know who he was up against.

"He, she, or they, all wear one of these." Ethan produced a necklace from his jacket pocket and held it out for the two of them to see. There was a round emerald stone engraved with the same symbol that was in Ron's book.

"A sword for decapitation, Wolf's bane to poison you, and an arrow to deliver the poison, although the Muggle variety of hunters have been using guns to deliver the poison for the last hundred years."

"There's wolfs bane in the garden," Ron said then, realizing that Harry had practically been laying in it when he'd found him."

"It's ineffective unless it's in the blood stream or has been eaten," Ethan said, putting the necklace away again. Harry wasn't sure he wanted to know how Ethan had come by the Flagari necklace.

Looking Harry directly in the eyes, Ethan knelt then and said, "Rest a few more hours. Then we run."

"But it'll still be daylight!" Ron half shouted, not liking at all where this conversation was going.

Ethan turned to Ron then and smacked him up side the head. "I'm not a vampire! Idiot!"

"Oh. Right. Forgot. Sorry." Ron's voice cracked then and Harry could smell Ron's fear of the older werewolf. Being able to sense emotions this way unsettled him. Not that the rest of his life was calm and cheery, but still, he didn't like where this was going either. On the one hand he didn't want to be around the Weasley's and chance biting or... well, doing something worse to one of them. But on the other hand he didn't really know anything about Ethan other than that he'd helped him through his first night. Ron he knew and knew he could depend on.

Weighing his options, Harry also considered that Ron did not have a plan yet to help him through this, but Ethan appeared to know what was happening, and what to do about it. With another look at Ron's uncertain face, he made up his mind and said to Ethan, "In a few hours then."

"Harry," Ron looked amazed. "You can't be serious? We can contact Lupin- he'll know what to do."

"Lupin?" Ethan asked, with a serious look on his face.

"A werewolf we know. He taught at Hogwarts for a year before he tried to eat us and was kicked out."

"Did he look like us?"

"No," Harry said. "He was tall and covered in hair."

Ethan looked as though he'd heard something distasteful then and said, "Russian."

"No he's not. He's English," Ron said, but quieted at the glare from Ethan. Harry was again unsettled at the scent that came off of his friend, and by the fact that Ethan didn't seem to like him very much.

"He's a Russian Were. He has no control over his transformation. He really is a mindless killing machine on the full moon, as I'm sure your school books have told you."

"Where will you go then?" Ron asked, not liking the way he was being spoken to and letting it show through his tone. Harry had to hand it to Ron. His friend was not a Gryffindor for nothing, and despite any fear he had, he still had something to say about all of this. Probably the result of living with so many older siblings.

Harry looked to Ethan for an answer, but this was one question he did not seem to have an answer to.

"Hogwarts," Harry said, still feeling weak. "School starts in two weeks anyway. I might as well get there."

"Are you going to sneak into the school?" Ron questioned, not at all against the idea.

"Well they always told us there were werewolves in the forbidden forest. I can stay there if I have to."

"We'll have a lot of back tracking to do," Ethan said then. "It might take us two weeks to get there as it is, and that's if we don't encounter any issues. We have to throw off the hunter."

Ron sighed then and looked at Harry. "You're really going, aren't you?"

"I don't have a choice," Harry said. "I'll see you at school though."

Ron nodded. "Be safe Harry."

* * *

"Damn it. I hate this," Harry groaned in the dark woods as Ethan sat on his chest. It was the last night of the full moon, and they were well away from the Weasleys, but that didn't stop Harry's wolf form from lusting after the flesh of man. Every time he thought he'd finally gained control, he lost it and took off in hunt of prey.

"Don't," Ethan said, eyes searching the darkened forest. They should be safe in here from the light of the moon, but safe from hunters was something different altogether.

"Why shouldn't I? I didn't ask for this!" Harry suddenly snarled, all of his emotions still heightened and on the precipice of spilling over into his wolf form, whether the moon was shining on him or not.

Ethan eyed him as he moved to let Harry up. "It's not a curse, it's a gift."

With a nasty glare, Harry spat on the ground. "Losing control of yourself every month and becoming a monster!? You're crazy. I should have stayed with Ron."

Suddenly Ethan pinned Harry to the ground again and Harry wondered if Ethan was having difficulty controlling his emotions as well. "And what do you think your little friend would have done if you'd harmed one of his parents or siblings? He'd have just as soon turned you in to the Flagari as joined them."

"You don't know what your talking about," Harry growled again.

"Don't I?"

Letting him up one last time, Ethan motioned for Harry to follow him. They still had a long way to travel, and it would be best to do it at night under the moon, when they were fastest. Ethan knew it would be a good two days before Harry recovered from the weakness that would overtake his body from the forced transformation.

Harry followed, but kept his mouth shut.

* * *

"I'll never get it," Harry asserted as he fell to the ground on the rocky shore of a pristine mountain lake.

"You're not concentrating hard enough." Ethan turned his back on Harry instead of helping him up, and surveyed the line of trees in the near distance. Harry knew he was keeping watch for the hunter, but they hadn't seen him since the last night of the full moon, four days ago. As the night had neared its end, the hunter had caught up with them and had taken several shots at them with arrows, but luckily Harry's instincts had kicked in and he'd dodged each time.

Now, as they moved along the edge of a lake days later, he rubbed his sore bum from his latest attempt at controlling the impulse to transform. Ethan had given him instruction, but he still could not manage to transform back to himself when in fight or flight mode.

"You can't go back to school," Ethan said with finality a few moments later.

Harry looked up. "What?"

"I make you angry or scared and you transform. You can't control it. How do you expect to go to classes like that? You said yourself you don't want them to know."

Harry sighed, still sitting on the rocks. "We're not there yet, are we? We have time."

"And you still won't learn."

"Because you're a lousy teacher."

Eyes narrowed, the older man stared down at Harry. "Well excuse me," he snarked. "I never had to learn this, and I've never had to teach someone who doesn't already know how." His hands were on his hips, and Harry was reminded of Snape when he was irritated.

"What do you mean you didn't have to learn?"

"Unlike you, I was born this way."

Harry scoffed. "That's not possible. You mean you were bit after you were born?"

"No." Ethan took a few steps forward and knelt next to Harry as the water lapped along the shoreline behind him. Harry gave him his full attention.

"When two were's mate, their offspring are usually also weres. Occasionally there are some who end up human, just like sometimes wizards have children that can't do magic."

"So- your parents were both werewolves?"

"Yes. My entire family nearly. There were a few that were born human."

"So- so if I have kids someday, they might be-"

"No." Ethan cut him off. "Only with two werewolves. But I doubt you'll find any human that will trust you enough knowing what you are. I've seen relationships fall apart time and again over one person getting bitten."

Harry thought about Ginny again, and put his head down in shame.  "I'll learn to control it," he said quietly.

From where he was kneeling, Ethan said, "It still won't be enough."

Eyes coming up to meet the older wolf's, Harry said, "I don't want this. There has to be a spell... or something. Some way to turn back."

Ethan considered him heavily for a long time. "I only know one way, and I've never met anyone who's succeeded.  Most believe it's a legend."

"Tell me!" Harry's voice conveyed the urgency of how he felt.

"I was told once by my grandfather, that if a were kills the one who bit him, he has a chance of turning back into a human. But-" he paused, and eyed Harry then. There's always a but, Harry thought in the brief pause before Ethan continued. "It will only work if you haven't tasted human blood between being bitten and killing the one who bit you."

"How- how hard can that be?" Harry asked, feeling a little anxious. "You said you knew who bit me... right?"

Now it was Ethan's turn to look ashamed. "Yes."

"And? Will you help me find him?"

"I won't have to," Ethan said. "He'll find you." It was an ominous answer; one Harry hadn't been expecting.

"He's following us?"

"He doesn't have to follow you. You're connected. He's an alpha and your one of his beta's."

"I don't understand. What does that mean?"

"You read that werewolves run in packs," Ethan said, and Harry nodded. "It's different between the different types. The Russian weres only run in a pack during the full moon, and with whatever other weres they can find.  They don't have an alpha except while they're transformed. The Albanians will run only with those like them during the full moon, and they generally never move away from the pack as humans.  Their alpha is the leader of their community but has no real control unless the pack gives it to them. But we're different. We're as close as you can come to a cross between a full werewolf and a human, and whoever the alpha is can control you, even when you haven't transformed. He can call you out in your sleep, make you do his bidding. We can control ourselves during the full moon. We know what we're doing, especially if we were born this way. If someone has bitten you, decided to make you a beta, then they've got a reason. They've got a reason to bring you into their pack. It wasn't a random accident that you ended up this way. Trust me when I say you've got more than just the Flagari hunters after you."

Harry ran a hand through his hair. "And I'm supposed to kill the Alpha? Will you help me?"

Ethan looked away again. "I haven't decided yet."

"Because you know him," Harry said flatly. Just brilliant. Ethan was chummy with whoever had bitten him. But the look of shame on Ethan's face just wasn't matching up. Harry questioned him further but was informed yet again that he was not allowed to ask certain questions. Harry knew better than to push any further, because it was clear that Ethan was in charge at this point. If Harry wanted to learn to control himself, and get back to Hogwarts in one piece, he'd need the older werewolf.

* * *

It was with great relief, and trepidation, that Harry stood next to Ethan at the edge of the Hogwarts grounds. It had taken them the full two weeks to get there, and Harry knew that in a short few hours the train would be arriving in Hogsmeade station with his friends, no doubt worried about not being able to find him on the train.

"What will you tell them?" Ethan asked.

Harry thought for a moment, and then asked, "If I get a black eye, will it stick with me for a while?"

He nodded. "A few hours maybe. Bruises heal quickly."

"Punch me then. I'll tell them I was embarrassed about the bruise Dudley gave me and hid out in a storage closet or something. Ron will have my back."

"Dudley?"

"My fat cousin."

Ethan didn't give Harry fair warning before he reeled back and punched Harry in the right eye. Not expecting the blow so soon, Harry fell backwards and hit the ground, scraping his hands.

"Damn it!"

"You asked me," Ethan reminded him when Harry gave him a look of malcontent.

Harry picked himself up off the ground and unshrunk his trunk, and broom, which had ridden around in his pocket for three weeks now, and levitated them down the path to Hogsmeade station.

"They'll take my stuff up with everybody else's," he said as he stuck it in the storage area. "But I don't want to be seen hanging around the platform. Hagrid comes down to greet the first years."

"How will you convince them you've just gotten off the train then?" Ethan looked skeptical. Through the sparse conversation they'd had over the past two weeks, Harry knew that Ethan was not magical, but that a few people in his distant family were. He was aware of magic, but wary at the same time, and had never been to Hogwarts.

"Students go up to the castle by carriage. I'll hide in the woods until I see Ron and run out and climb on board."

Ethan rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure Ron will have made something up."

"And that's supposed to be a good thing?"

Harry gave him a little shove and then moved past him. "Come on."

They passed their time in silence at the edge of the forbidden forest a few trees in from the trail as it grew steadily darker out. It'd been dark for a full hour when Harry was just contemplating how much he enjoyed being out in the cool night air. He also thought of how his last two weeks on the run had gone. He still didn't have complete control over his transformations, but he'd managed to beat back the urge to change when he was angry or scared. It still worried him some about how he would explain things if Snape or Malfoy set him on edge too much during the term.

They heard noise in the distance, and Harry stood up from the rock he'd been sitting on. Ethan stood too, ears alert.

"It's them," Harry said, looking down at his watch. "Train always gets in about this time."

"I'll make sure you're on a carriage before I go then."

Harry's eyes grew large at this and he looked at Ethan. "You're not leaving are you?"

"What did you expect me to do? Go to classes with you? Sleep in your dorm?"

Harry bit his lip. "But the next full moon is in three weeks."

"I need to try to take care of your little hunter problem, as well as the alpha. I'll try to be back by the full moon but it's not a promise. Maybe that friend of yours," his lip curled up a little here, "can be of some use after all. Just make sure you're chained tight and don't have him for a snack, or else killing the Alpha won't matter."

"You're going to help me then?" They heard voices now and laughter, and the sound of wheels coming up the dry dirt drive.

"I'll help you, but I haven't decided how yet. Just- stay out of trouble and stay out of the woods. The Flagari don't care about crossing school bounds. I can guarantee you'll see the hunter soon. He's never seen you transform so he doesn't know exactly who the were is."

The first thestral drawn carriage came into sight then and Ethan took a few steps back. "Don't come looking for me," he warned as he backed further into the woods. Harry could sense that he was still there, but he could no longer see him, even with his enhanced eye sight.

"Bye," he whispered, unsure if Ethan could hear it, and then turned his attention to the carriages coming up the drive.

Twenty five carriages passed by without sight of his friends, and Harry was sure there weren't going to be too many more, before he caught sight of Ron's red hair as his friend looked back and forth in the woods for any sign of Harry.

When Harry was sure there were no other students or staff in sight, he darted out of the woods and climbed up onto the carriage, startling Hermione and Ginny.

"Harry! Where have you been!? What's happened to your face?" Hermione seemed altogether shocked while Ginny just looked worried. Ron on the other hand showed nothing but relief. He and Harry shared a look, before Ron gave the smallest shake of his head to indicate he hadn't told a soul about Harry's little wolf problem.

Harry pointed to his black eye. "Dudley did this a couple of days ago. I didn't want anybody to see and start asking questions, so I rode the train up in a broom closet."

"We wouldn't have told anybody," Ginny said then, and Harry's cheeks tinged red.

"I owled Ron last night and told him what I was going to do," Harry said. "I didn't know he didn't tell anybody."

Hermione eyed Ron then and Ginny said, "Well that explains a lot. He's been antsy all day and went to the bathroom twenty times on the train."

"Can you heal it Hermione?"

She took out her wand and the bruise was gone in about a second. "Honestly Harry, it's about time you learned some healing spells. The amount of times you end up in the Hospital Wing each year." She trailed off with a serious look at him and he flashed a grin.

"Why? Got you and Ginny haven't I?"

When the girls began to talk amongst themselves again, Harry looked out into the dark forest, and Ron along with him. When neither saw Ethan, they shared a serious look, and Harry tried to convey to Ron by sight alone that he'd fill him in on everything later.

One thing was for sure: It would be an interesting year at Hogwarts. Harry just hoped it wouldn't turn out to be a deadly one.