The moon set in the very early hours of the morning, with plenty of time between their captive's shift back to humanity and Harry's bagpipe lesson. Just as the bottom touched the horizon, the werewolf completely passed out. With extreme caution and wearing towels around his hands, Severus pried the sextant out of its mouth so that it didn't rip its jaw out when it transformed back to a human with a smaller mouth.

Looking at the dented, scratched object in his hands, he saw Harry's wince. "Whose was this?"

"McDuffy's," he sighed.

Severus grimaced and took it inside to wash off the saliva and dirt. It was a clean but damaged tool that he handed back to Harry with a 50£ note. "Take this back, and clean up the beach as best you can. Wait half an hour before returning here." He didn't want the werewolf to wake up and see the Harry Potter, boy-who-lived gone missing as a fugitive from the law.

Harry frowned but nodded. With one last glance over his shoulder at the werewolf, he turned and walked off.

Severus sat back on his heels with a sigh. He knew Harry felt sorry for the werewolf, but Severus didn't have the luxury of sympathy. This could very well be a member of one of the ally packs that the Dark Lord had recruited. Then again, it could be someone who as a human never intended to hurt anyone. Until he knew, he wasn't ready to reveal anything. Wearing a jacket with a deep hood pulled up to better shadow his face, Severus waited as the moon continued its descent into the sea.

When the last of its silvery glow faded, and the sky was lit only by a plethora of stars, the werewolf's body began to shudder. The very skin itself seemed to ripple and shrink in on itself. Severus remained stoic through the painful transformation, until a man was left in the wolf's wake, bare and shivering in the nets. He lay, panting, eyes closed and brow furrowed in pain.

"Who are you?" Severus asked.

Eyes flicked open, the color indistinguishable in the dark besides the shining flecks of amber.

"Wha…" came a croaky, hoarse voice, as the man seemed to become more aware of his surroundings. He fingered the net and winced. "What happened?"

"You were subdued," Severus said, "after breaking through my wards and attacking the village." He watched closely for his words' effect.

The man winced and curled up slightly, the fear on his face only partially shadowed by the pre-dawn darkness. "Was anyone… hurt?"

"A boy was scratched," Severus said. "Not bit."

The man gave a shuddering sigh of relief, and some of the tension in his body was released. "We didn't… there wasn't supposed to be anyone in the area."

The empty highlands were a popular place for some werewolves, unwilling to hurt anyone and too poor to afford Wolfsbane, to retreat to on the full moon. "The village is not on a map." Still, Severus had been under the impression that the community had a more thorough knowledge of the geography of human habitation in areas where they normally roamed.

"This was our first full moon," the man said, voice quiet and pained. "We're all people who've been attacked by Greyback recently."

Severus stilled. "Greyback is becoming more active?"

The man laughed without humor. "Evidently."

Severus watched the man shiver in the nets for a long moment. He didn't appear to be a threat, but Severus was hesitant to trust. Still, he hadn't survived this long without good instincts. He reached forward and loosened the cast net, ignoring how the man shied away slightly as his hand came close. He pulled it free from the tangled, scarred limbs as the man began to wriggle loose from the one beneath it.

When both nets were removed, Severus silently handed the man a blanket. He covered himself and stared blankly at the ground.

"Who are you?" Severus repeated.

"Aarav Mishra."

Severus did not recognize the name, but the man was not of an age to have been one of Severus' students. Perhaps they were in school at vaguely the same time, or the man was older. He may not have attended Hogwarts at all. It was difficult to make out much in the gloom besides the posture of defeat and exhaustion.

"The rest of your pack abandoned you when I fought them," Severus said with a slight sneer.

The man turned his face away. "We have a rendezvous, in case of separation."

Severus stood. "I will give you clothes and food, but you must leave now. I warn you, do not return to this place. It is protected."

The man nodded, looking pathetically grateful for someone who was being forced to walk several miles alone before five in the morning.

Severus went inside and returned momentarily with a bundle of clothes, a bottle of water, and a bite of food. Mishra changed with the awkwardness of a man unaccustomed to this situation, further proof to Severus that he had indeed been recently infected. He left soon after, thanking Severus for both the supplies and for preventing him from killing anyone. Severus gave a jerky nod; the man's gentle self-reproach reminded him too much of Lupin.

Severus went inside and collapsed on his bed, feeling sore all over. He'd had no sleep all night, and he was out of practice in magical duelling. The close call with Harry and the other village teens had left him shaken as well.

He heard the door open, and Harry entered. His footsteps paused, and started to turn around.

"Here," Severus called. The footsteps stopped receding and then came closer. Moments later, Harry's face poked around the privacy screen.

"Is he already gone? The werewolf?"

"Gone," Severus confirmed.

"Huh," Harry said. "I thought he'd want to rest up before heading off."

Harry's far too naive. "He felt it was time to go."

Harry blinked, then narrowed his eyes. "You chased him off."

"Yes," Snape easily agreed, conscience unbothered.

Harry huffed. "Was he okay?"

Severus gave a half shrug.

"Professor!" Harry exclaimed, in a slightly scolding tone that Severus would never have allowed two months ago. Now, he merely half-smiled.

"You'd better get some rest."

Harry stomped off, angrily muttering. Severus turned over and pressed his face into his pillow, stifling a groan at the pain in his shoulders from dragging the netted werewolf through the village. He was tempted to take a sick day off work, but he knew gossip would be stirring the village about the sounds last night and he didn't want to vary his routine, lest it look suspicious.

He was deeply asleep by the time McAuliffe's bagpiping woke the town. He clutched both ears and curled up slightly, lips parting in a silent scream of frustration. Even Harry seemed completely knackered as his footsteps shuffled across the room to his practice corner. The sounds of reluctant feet sliding across the floors abruptly ceased as he entered the pre-existing silencing charms, and Severus allowed himself to roll over and drift off again, McAuliffe in the distance determinedly tuned out.

Harry let him sleep through his return and made breakfast, only waking him when he had a plate ready for them both. When Severus commented on it, Harry only shrugged.

"You needed the sleep. You're going to work. I'm going back to bed."

Severus shook his head and began eating. He normally only had a large (or any) breakfast in cases like these, when Harry made it himself. Breakfast was a particular skill of the teen, something Severus darkly wondered if it was one of his regular chores. Still, he ate plenty today, the quantities of magic he'd cast and the physical rigors of the night leaving him hungry.

At work, he did his best to operate on autopilot and steadily ignore the exhaustion still threading through his body. The food had given him some energy, but he wasn't willing to spend any more of it than necessary.

"Odd noises outside last night, eh?" Francis asked.

Severus' head shot up, and he looked closely at the other man, trying to determine if the question was fishing, or worse, stemming from suspicion about either him, Harry, or both. Francis' tone was merely one of mild gossip, however, and his face held the same calm focus it normally did as he worked. "Yes," Severus agreed, still deciding to tread cautiously. "I was not aware there were that many stray dogs in the village."

"There aren't." Francis leaned in closer, becoming more interested in the topic. "Honestly, if you ask me, it was a couple of kids having some fun. Maybe hikers, maybe locals, I don't know. Sounded like wolves. There was a full moon out last night. Probably trying to have a laugh."

"Absolutely juvenile," Severus scoffed scornfully, inwardly singing.

"I'm going to try to make that dinner tonight," Francis said, changing the subject.

Severus had to think for a moment before remembering. Their conversion the day before seemed like a lifetime ago. "I wish you luck." Pretending to mutter under his breath, "You're going to need it."

Francis threw a towel at him.

Harry was still taking a nap when a knock sounded on the front door. Groaning, he rose to his feet and stumbled to the door, still half asleep. He leaned heavily against the frame as he opened it, his hair half covering his face.

"A little tired?" Mary asked.

He blinked and took in the visitors. Mary and Callum were standing side-by-side on the front step.

"C'mon in," he yawned, stepping back and allowing them to enter the cottage. They did, and he shut the door behind them.

Running his hand through his hair to try and tame it, Harry led them to the sitting area. Mary sat primly in an armchair, and Callum flopped onto the couch.

"I can't say I'm surprised you're here," Harry admitted. He grabbed his hoodie from where it was draped over the back of the couch and pulled it on, feeling chilled after getting out of bed. “Tea?”

“Tea? That’s it? Like we’re not going to talk about what happened?” Mary asked.

Harry blinked. “Alright. Yeah, you’re right. We need to talk about it.”

"I haven't told my parents," Callum said.

"Neither have I," Mary added.

I wish my parents were alive to keep secrets from. Aloud, he said, "That's probably a good idea."

"My parents never heard anything. My da had the radio turned up all night. Sometimes he gets insomnia, you know. My mum has a good pair of earplugs when he does, so she didn't hear anything either."

Mary rolled her eyes. "I wish I was so lucky. Lucy—that's my little sister, Henry, by the way—was scared by the sounds, and my mum was comforting her. She thought it was just Callum too. When she asked what took me so long, I had to tell her that I couldn't find you, and that's why the sounds continued for so long."

"What about your dad?" Harry asked.

Mary looked down. "He was killed a few years ago in a boating accident."

"Oh. I'm sorry," Harry said.

She nodded, then changed the subject. "She was going to yell at Callum's da, but I told her that I dragged him home and he already got caught."

"Thanks for that," Callum said fervently. "My da would be really upset if he thought I'd been scaring the village kids."

"Everybody's gossiping about it, but nobody seems to know what really happened," Mary said, eying Harry. "Don't you think you should tell them, in case it happens again?"

Harry shook his head. "It won't happen again." Severus had told him about how he'd informed the werewolf that this village was under protection. Even if there was a pack out there that liked to attack villages on purpose, having a powerful wizard here who'd already proven himself capable of defending the town would be a good deterrent. "I mean, anything's possible, but Dad seriously doubts it." Using the term "Dad," which usually made him oddly happy, felt hollow after the reminder that he didn't really have a father who talked to Harry about werewolves and defense.

He did have Snape, though. But Snape wasn't his dad, no matter what charade they were playing in the village. What was Snape to him?

Mary's voice broke through his musings. "From the way you two were talking, it sounded like there were more.”

“Four,” Harry sighed.

“And he took them out all by himself?” Callum asked, looking thunderstruck. “We barely got one together.”

“He didn’t take them out, he chased them off,” Harry said, although he agreed that it was impressive.

Callum shook his head. “What happened to the one we caught?”

“He transformed back when the moon set and left.”

“You just let him go?” Mary exclaimed.

“Most werewolves aren’t bad people,” Harry said stridently. “The wolf takes over during the full moon, and they can’t control what they do. When they’re human, they’re completely different.”

The other two stared at him for a moment, until Mary sighed. “I suppose you might be right. It’s not like we know anything about them,” she smiled without humor.

From the hopeful way they were both looking at him, he realized that they both wanted him to tell them more about werewolves.

“Look,” he sighed. “I can’t tell you a lot more than that. It’s not my choice, but I just can’t.”

They looked disappointed, but neither pressed the matter.

“But you know what I can tell you?” he asked, starting to grin.

“What?” Callum asked.

“We took down a werewolf with fishing nets, a shovel, a trolling motor, and a sextant. That, I think I can safely say, has never been done before.”

They grinned back.