Ruse slammed his back-room door open, carrying his lunch on a plate. He breathed heavily as he walked further back past his storage space to the door that led to the basement of his store. His brows were furrowed as he thought about what he had read on werewolves – his injury would not turn him, but he may experience more wolfish tendencies now. How repulsive.

               Ruse carefully stepped down the stairs to his basement, using his wand to unlock the door at the bottom stair. He shouldered it open and walked into a dimly lit room. Inside, were shelves of strange potions, some glowing, some swirling. Ancient books with varying locks and spells holding them shut lined several of the lower shelves. A small decorative tree hovered over a desk situated in the far back of the room was littered with scrawled on parchment and journals. Stranger still was the taxidermy.

               On the highest branch of the tree was a raven with a red bowtie, its wings spread open in preparation for flight. On a lower branch was a squirrel with a flower headband and standing under the tree was a goat with a black cloak and a broken horn on its head. Behind the desk, standing tall with paws up, was a large bear with reading glasses. To the opposite side of the desk was a paint horse lying down, its head lifted and a red shawl over its withers. Sitting on the horse’s back was a cat with a scarf wrapped securely around its neck. A polecat sat in front of the horse, holding up a wedding band.

               Ruse paused in front of a mirror, dark eyes glaring at the two large scars forming across his cheek. He gently touched the abrasive surface, winced, then grumbled over to his desk.

               “Bloody werewolf,” he muttered. “I should have let him leave when he wanted to. Now look what he’s done.”

               Ruse sat at his desk with his lunch, picking up the hamburger and biting into the rare meat. He set the food down and glared at his notes on his rushed transformation process.

               “Too bad I can’t figure out the missing ingredient that keeps a wizard from losing his humanity in the ritual,” he said, a small smirk growing on his face. “Isn’t that right, my friends?” Ruse reached out to stroke the horse’s head. “He’ll meet his fate, and when he does, I’ll be hunting. I’ve never had a werewolf in my collection. Won’t he make a fine addition. It’ll be so easy to capture him once he is trapped in wolf form, all alone and unable to shift back.”

               Ruse chuckled to himself as he took another bite of the hamburger, staring at a strange golden object that had a picture of a werewolf in the center. He looked down at his feet.

               “And you’ll finally have a little playmate, my loyal companion. Too bad it won’t be your meddling brother.”

               Sitting just under the desk in a submissive stance was a golden retriever with a fedora on his head.

               “What are you doing, Harry?” Hermione’s voice sounded above him.

               Harry jumped and looked up at his friend. Ron barely gave her any notice, too focused on finishing his Charms homework.
               “Oh, just reading,” he answered, looking back down at the book he had found on sphinxes and curses.

               “I see that,” Hermione smiled, sitting at the table with Harry. She looked around the library briefly before leaning in and asking, “why on curses caused by sphinxes?”

               “Well, my friend is cursed by a sphinx and I just want to see if there’s a way to break it.”

               “The friend you’re always running off to see before curfew?”

               “That’s the one.”

               “Professor Snape, right?”

               Ron looked at Harry is surprise and Harry’s head snapped back up, his eyes wide and his mouth agape. “How did you . . .?”

               “It was quite obvious, really,” Hermione stated.

               “How?” Ron frowned. “Harry, it’s not really Snape who’s Ajax, is it?”

               “Ajax?” Hermione asked. “You know who he is?”

               “Well,” Ron continued, “Harry mentioned his name once or twice to me, but no, I’ve never met him.”

               “Guys, keep it down,” Harry said, his cheeks deepening to a red. “No one is supposed to know. How did you find out?”

               “I know how to do my research,” Hermione explained. “Look, you say your friend was cursed by a sphinx, that he is man by day and a centaur by night. I looked into wizard history, checked for names of bloodlines that have ever been subjected to curses, and found the one that was cursed by a sphinx into a monster. The Prince family. Now, I followed that line as far down as I could and by the curse’s words, only the males in the family suffer the curse, but the line ends with a daughter.”

               “So, how did you know it was Professor Snape?” Harry asked.

               “Well, I didn’t for the longest time after that. I figured Eileen must have been disowned or something, I wasn’t sure why I couldn’t see her children’s names, but then I realized that the book I was reading updated itself. It was written by a pureblood after all, so any pureblooded wizard Eileen married would have shown up in the book on its own. So she either married a halfblood or a muggle. Then I noticed something.” Hermione leaned in closer to Harry and Ron. “We never see Professor Snape at night. In fact, as soon as the sun starts to set, he’s gone. And then, after dinner, you leave. I knew Professor Snape must be the friend you visited and when I searched for “Snape” in the library, I found an article on Eileen Prince’s marriage to Tobias Snape.”

               “Wow,” Ron said, blinking at Hermione. He pushed his parchment over to her. “You want to finish my Charms essay for me?”

               Hermione gave Ron an annoyed face.

               “That’s really impressive,” Harry smiled. “I never would have put all the clues together. Hey, maybe you guys can meet him! I mean, as Ajax. You already know Professor Snape, but he’s a really nice person outside the classroom.”

               “Yeah, and I don’t have six siblings,” Ron muttered.
               “I’m serious. I can explain that you put all the clues together and I thought it would be okay since you already know his secret.”

               “There’s more,” Hermione said.

               “What do you mean? I think you pretty much summed it all up.”

               “The only way to break a sphinx’s curse is to find a sphinx and answer the riddle. I saw this in Professor Quirrell’s classroom,” Hermione reached into her bag and pulled out a strange circular object. It was gold in color, had a dial on the side, an arrow at the top, and in the middle was a picture of a unicorn.

               “So you stole it?” Ron asked.

               “Borrowed,” Hermione said. “Just temporarily. I don’t think Professor Quirrell has any need tracking unicorns.”

               “I guess not,” Ron said. “So it’s a tracker?”

               “Yes. It tracks different kinds of magical creatures. You pull this dial,” Hermione demonstrated, changing the picture of a unicorn to a phoenix to a runespoor and finally to a sphinx. “And when you find the right animal, you tap it with your wand.”

               Hermione did so. The three watched the object closely for a long silent moment. Ron frowned.

               “Is something supposed to happen?” he asked.

               “Yes,” Hermione gently shook the device. “I think there might be a loose screw somewhere. I haven’t been able to get it to work. Maybe Professor Snape can fix it.”

               “We should bring it to him,” Harry smiled. “Tonight.”

               Hermione grinned brightly while Ron sighed anxiously.

Severus galloped to the path that would bring him straight to Remus’s cabin, wanting nothing to do with manticores or centaurs. He vanished from near Hogwarts ground to the opening where the cabin resided. He trotted to a stop once he was there, his hooves kicking up dirt as he approached the cabin door.

               “Remus, I have more wolfsbane,” Severus announced, pulling the bag from over his shoulder. It was filled with six vials, enough to get the wolf to June.

               There was silence. When the door didn’t open for several moments, Severus grew annoyed.

               “Come on, Lupin, open the door. I don’t have all night.”

               More silence followed. Then snarling.

               Severus frowned and took a step back, studying the house. He looked up to the roof as a large werewolf stepped into view atop the house, snarling down at Severus.

               “Impossible,” Severus said, taking several steps back, turning sideways to avoid tripping over his hooves. He looked up at the crescent moon. “It’s not a full moon.”

               The wolf leaped to the ground, fur bristled. Severus’s ears laid flat and he reached for the bow on his back. The wolf suddenly began changing, fur receding and claws retracting until Remus Lupin stood in its place.

               “You will not believe,” Remus said between pants, “how awful last night was.”

               Severus lowered his hand away from the box, his ears slowly lifting back up. He narrowed his eyes at Remus as he stepped closer to the man.

               “How did you . . .”

               “It’s not exactly animagus, but it’s something.”

               “Obviously not an animagus,” Severus snapped. “You were a werewolf. On a night of a non-full moon. How is that even possible?”

               “Okay, so I did something very stupid.” Remus explained his encounter with the man in the fedora and then finding Ruse and the dark magic that occurred. “But I can see Harry as Moony without ever having to show my face near the school. Ever.”

               “You idiot,” Severus snorted, rearing up to stamp his front hooves on the ground. “You risked losing your humanity to become an animagus?”

               “I did this for Harry.”

               “That man could have made you a wolf permanently. What then? You’d see Harry, but you’d be nothing more than a . . .”

               “Than a what? Go ahead, say it.”

               Severus sighed, flicking his tail agitatedly. He shook his head and held out the bag. “Take them. They are wolfsbane potions. Unless you no longer need them.”

               “I’ll always need them,” Remus said, taking the potions from the centaur. He held the bag in a loose grip, shaking his own head. “I know what I did was the inanest idea I’ve ever had in my life. I should have kept away, but the temptation of becoming an animagus now so I could see Harry while he’s still young and growing – it was too great. But what’s done is done. It’s over, it’s in the past. I’ll never have to see that man again. And I’m not stuck as a wolf permanently. It worked.”

               “Humph,” Severus said, turning away from Remus, heading back for the path that brought him here. “Harry should be waiting for me at this point. It is far past dinner time.”

               “And I can join you,” Remus smiled, dropping down into his werewolf form. He ran up to Severus, who bared his teeth at the wolf leaping at his side.

               “What makes you think you a werewolf can show its face at Hogwarts every night.”

               “Well, considering a werewolf is a werewolf once a month,” Moony said and smiled in a big dog grin. “Who’s going to know?”

               Severus sighed. “Fine, you may come.”

               “I knew you were a pushover,” Moony barked and charged forward. “This will be so much fun. It’ll make my day, and trust me, I need something like this after last night. I had to sleep in a cardboard box with garbage to keep me warm – do you know how smelly that is. I was in such desperate need of a bath, I was not about to groom myself after that . . .”

               Severus groaned. So much for a quiet visit with Harry. As the two neared Hogwarts, Moony paused and sniffed the air.

               “Hey, did Harry multiply into three?” the wolf asked, tilting his head up at Severus.

               “Not that I’m aware of,” Severus peered through the dark at the usual meet spot between the greenhouses. Three kids were sitting in a semi-circle in the grass chatting away happily. Severus wasn’t sure if Harry had invited his friends or if his friends followed him out. Better to play it safe. Severus stayed to the trees, walking around the greenhouses and staying out of sight. He could easily hear the conversation taking place.

               “So like,” Ron was asking, “you can find any animal?”

               “Any magical animal,” Hermione explained.

               “What’s the difference?”

               Hermione and Harry laughed.

               “Well,” Hermione held up some strange device, “it won’t find any owls or dogs. Not unless they’re magical.”

               All three laughed again. Severus narrowed his eyes. It seemed as if the three were waiting, and he had a sinking feeling Harry had exploited his secret. Anger filled his chest and he pawed the ground with a hoof. Moony sat at his side, a grin on his lips still as he watched the children laugh. Hermione looked around, her smile fading.

               “Do you think you should have told Professor Snape we were coming?” she asked. “Maybe he won’t show himself with us here.”  

               You’re right I won’t, Severus thought in his head, his ears lying flat.

               Moony looked up at him, his ears turning sideways as he gave a whine. Eyeing Harry, Moony bounded forward, Severus too slow to grab his scruff and stop him. Hermione screamed and Ron fell over and back crawled away as Moony charged them, the wolf sliding into Harry and nuzzling the laughing boy.

               “Moony?” Harry questioned, petting the wolf’s head. “What are you doing here? It’s not even a full moon, how are you . . .”

               “Long story,” Moony said. “Will you introduce me to your friends?”

               “Yeah,” Harry smiled at his friends shocked faces. “Hermione, Ron, this is Moony. Moony, this is Hermione and Ron.”

               “A pleasure to meet you all,” Moony said, his tail wagging.

               Hermione and Ron looked at each other then back at Harry and the wolf. Slowly, they scooted closer to Moony, sitting up on their knees to pet the large wolf’s head, Moony panting happily. The two laughed, now at ease. Hermione gave Harry a concerned look.

               “He looks like a werewolf,” she whispered to Harry.

               “I am one,” Moony said, “but now, I can also be a wolf when I please. I mean no harm.”

               “I think you’re brilliant,” Ron said.

               “Thank you,” Moony smiled. He looked over his shoulder, meeting Severus’s eyes. “Are you going to join the party or what?”

               Severus raised himself up indignantly, glaring at the wolf for exposing him.

               “Ajax?” Harry said, standing up.

               Severus rolled his eyes with a sigh before stepping forward slowly, exiting the trees. Hermione and Ron jumped to their feet, staring wide eyed as he stepped out, revealing his massive size. He glared down at the children. Hermione and Ron seemed frozen.

               “I hope you have an explanation for this, young man,” Severus said to Harry, lowering his upper half toward the boy.

               “Well, actually, I umm,” Harry stammered.

               “I figured it out on my own, Hermione said, stepping forward. Harry nodded. Hermione explained how she did her research and discovered the cursed line. Moony seemed impressed and gave a sly smile at Severus, who looked off irritably.

               “You are very brilliant witch, Miss Granger,” Severus said.

               “Thank you, sir.”

               “Please, Ajax will do. And what brings you out here, Mr. Weasley?”

               Ron blinked. “I’m just err . . . here for support.”

               “I guess you can’t have two without the third, now can you?”

               “Huh?”

               “Eloquent as ever,” Severus concluded.

               Harry and Hermione laughed. Ron turned as red as his hair.

               “You still should have asked me first, Harry,” Severus scolded gently.

               “Sorry, Ajax. But Hermione has an idea on how you can break the curse.”

               “And you don’t think I have any?”

               “Well, I figured you would but . . .”

               “I believe,” Hermione cut in, stepping forward, “that this might come in handy.”

               Severus accepted the strange object, Moony standing on his hind legs to sniff at it. Severus had seen it once before, but objects like these were rare and were said to only be found in the possession of dark wizards.

               “A hunting compass,” Moony said, snarling at it. “Where did you find that?”

               “Professor Quirrell had it,” Hermione said. “I thought you could use it to help you find a sphinx. It is the first step to breaking the curse.”

               “That it is,” Severus said, tapping his chin in thought, turning the object over in his hand.

               “Why is it called a hunting compass?” Harry asked.

               “It was originally used by poachers to track down magical creatures for whatever reasons – trophy hunting, meat, fur . . . slaughter.” Moony shook out his fur.

               “I’m sorry,” Hermione said, “I didn’t know exactly what it was. I thought . . .”

               “It could still help us,” Severus said, changing the picture in the middle to a sphinx. He summoned his wand, knowing he had not locked it up that night. He snatched it out of the air and tapped the picture. Nothing happened. “It’s broken.”

               “We thought you might know how to fix it,” Harry said.

               “Disappointingly, I do not.”

               “I might,” Moony said. “After all, I’ve learned much from Mr. Banges. I could give it a go.”  

               “Then it’s all yours,” Severus said. “Thank you for your aid, Miss Granger. And as for the three of you, you all have detention with me tomorrow morning at nine. Be glad it’s a Saturday.”

               “What?”

               “Really?”

               “Why?”

               “Oh relax,” Severus snapped, crossing his arms at the complaining children. “We have a lot to talk about. It’s getting late, head back inside, all of you.”

               “Yes, sir.” Hermione and Ron said.

               “Goodnight, Ajax,” Harry smiled.

               “Goodnight. I will see you in the morning.”

               The three headed back to the castle. Moony chuckled at his side.

               “You found yourself a bunch of smart kids. Years of hiding who you are and what you become, and you’re figured out by three troublesome first years.”

               “Shut it and take this,” Severus said, handing the compass to Moony, who gently gripped it in his jaws. “I hope you know how to fix it.”

               “I’ll figure it out,” the wolf said, turning into the trees and running back for the apparition breach. When the wolf vanished, Severus looked back in time to see the kids enter the castle. He smiled. Troublesome first years indeed.