The Beast Within - Chapter 17

The remaining two days of the Full Moon went much easier. He tried, and failed, repeatedly to try to fly with his new wings, but there just wasn't enough height. The best he could do was some very short gliding. His appetite had increased in general, but not to the point of the first. Harry couldn't say that he was a pleasant ray of sunshine, but he wasn't nearly as grumpy. Even after all of the changes he couldn't understand how ragged Lupin always appeared. Ginger didn't have any visible scars or look half-starved. Was it just something to do with Remus?

His life returned to the previous pattern. Getting pelted with spells by the three Aurors in the guise of training, eating enough to feed a family of four every day, and exercise. Running, aerobics, and a small bit of lifting weights helped him grow accustomed to the changes to his body. Ron was spot on, there was roughly a week and a half to prepare for the Quidditch World Cup.

Harry spent most of his nights in the basement rather than the room provided. Drifting in the water helped him adjust to his enhanced senses. Simply going through daily life was hard when it was close to the Full Moon. The constant tune was a wonderful balm but became a blaring siren on those days. When he was in his human form at least.

He was up early in the morning that the Weasleys were due to come get him. In his life he had faced down dark wizards and monsters of various sorts, but the idea of the Quidditch World Cup terrified him. His trips out into public had been fine. He didn't want to rip any arms off, mount random women, or start hording shiny things. No one knew what to expect from a were-dragon considering he was the first one in recorded history. They loosely applied what they knew about werewolves to try to gauge his possible behaviors.

Still, there were women that caught his eye. Hestia had backed off a bit after seeing him transform into the hybrid form. Nym was still playing aloof but had settled into a 'big sister' role rather than a romantic partner. It made since. They were there to monitor him and potentially detain him if needed. Getting too close to him was a bad idea. No one wanted to think about what would happen if he raged in his other form and what would happen to them if they hesitated. It still sucked though.

In summary, he hadn't gotten laid in a couple of weeks now. His frustration on that side of things probably wasn't all there different than most other guys his age. Contrary to the boasting, the majority of his year mates were still virgins. Those that weren't and did brag usually found their potential conquests steering away from them. Not that it was a big deal. Without the madness that was his life he'd probably only have sex with the woman he planned to marry. He had wondered about the marital details of the magical world but was still too shy to bring it up in conversation. Mate with three dragons with a crowd of people nearby? Perfectly fine. Broach the subject of monogamy and mistresses? Nope.

Harry made breakfast for the others, then made an even bigger portion for himself. Nym was the most understanding of the group. She knew that changing shape required some form of extra mass. Her appetite wasn't as bad, but she still could put away quite a lot. If she didn't then she risked hurting herself or passing out randomly.

He felt the shift in the air before the Floo activated. The Weasleys had been given the password for the day to open the network. Even then, the 'airlock' system activated, closing the door into the house and shutting off the Floor once the connection ended. Harry strolled over to the door and took a look through the view window. Arthur, Ron, and the twins waited on the other side. Thankfully, they had been told what to expect so they weren't upset.

Harry unlocked the door and let them through.

"Harry," Arthur stepped through offering his hand. "It's good to see you."

Harry took it and shook it. Thankfully, he had spent plenty of time relearning his own strength otherwise he would have potentially destroy everything he touched. Even then, Arthur winced a little. There didn't seem to be any real damage, just some discomfort.

"It's good to see you too," Harry smiled.

"Harry," Ron jumped forward, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "How have you been? I've tried to send you letters but they never go through."

"Yeah," Harry sighed. "They don't seem to like me much."

"Is that why Hedwig has taken to staying with Hermione?" Ron asked softly.

Harry nodded.

"They don't come anywhere close to me," Harry gave a fake grin.

"That sucks," Ron squeezed his shoulder gently.

"Yeah, it does," Harry replied.

"Spike!" The twins said in unison.

"Spike?" Harry asked.

"It's your new name," Fred said.
"Like the Marauders," George added.
"You're a dragon, so Spike," Fred finished.

"Ok," Harry chuckled. "Then what are your names?"

"Ged," Fred said.
"Forge," George replied.

"And who else is in the our marry band of tricksters?" Harry asked.

"Uh," the twins drew the word out.

"Me," Ron scoffed.

"Ok," Fred said.
"Fine," George added.

Ron preened.

"What's my name then?" He asked.

"Nibbles?" Fred asked.
"Chomper?" George offered.
"Spoon?" Fred said.
"I know," George said with a big smile. "Webby."

"No," Ron's face went flat.

"Sorry, Webby, you don't get to choose," Harry patted his friend on the shoulder.

Ron's jaw slowly dropped as he stared at the clear betrayal.

"That's four of us," Harry shifted his attention back to the twins. "Doesn't feel right. You two work with Lee, we've got Hermione, and there are a couple of others too."

"Neville," Ron offered.

"Ginny," Harry added.

"Really?" Ron groaned.

"She ran interference last year," Harry replied. "She wasn't as shy around me when I saw her at St. Mungo's."

"Fine," Ron said after a moment. "But I get to give her a name."

"Sure," Harry shrugged.

"Ginger," Ron said happily.

"That's kind of on the nose, isn't it?" Harry asked.

"She'll hate that," Fred chuckled.
"It's perfect," George said wiping a fake tear from his eye.

"So, what do we call our merry band then?" Harry asked. "Calling ourselves the Marauders doesn't feel right. Sirius, Remus, and my dad were Marauders, not us."

"What?" The twins said in unison.

"What?" Harry replied.

"Your dad," Fred started.
"Sirius Black," George added.
"And Professor Lupin were the Marauders?" Fred finished.

"I thought I told you," Harry said absently.

"You most certainly did not," Fred groaned.
"Ron did spill about Sirius being innocent," George tacked on.

"Thanks for that," Harry flashed his friend a heartfelt smile.

"Of course," Ron replied trying, and failing, to hide a blush. "Our name?"

"The Prowlers," Fred offered.
"The Raiders," George said.
"The Bandits," Fred continued.

"Those are just other versions of Marauder," Harry said flatly.

"What do you suggest, Spikey?" George asked with a broad smile.

"Artful Dodgers?" Harry suggested.

"It's obvious," Fred said.
"Kind of pointless," George added.
"And short," Fred said.
"I love it," they said in unison.

"Do you know where it's from?" Harry asked.

"Oliver Twist," Fred replied rolling his eyes.
"Charles Dickens was a half-blood," George added.

"I can't tell if you're joking or not," Harry said studying at the two.

"Honest," Fred said.
"Why else would we read it?" George asked.

Harry listened closely as they spoke. It wasn't easy, but he could hear their heartbeats. The trick was practically impossible when there were more people in the room. Oddly enough, their heart rate didn't fluctuate. Either they were telling the truth, or they were really good liars. That didn't help considering it was them.

"I'll just ask Hermione," Harry grumbled.

Arthur had slipped away into the house during the conversation. He returned with Harry's trunk with Nym and Hestia behind him. The two Aurors were dressed in casual clothes, and each carried a small bag.

"What are you two doing?" Ron asked.

"We're coming along," Nym answered.

"Harry has been doing fine on public outings, but it's better to be safe," Hestia clarified. "Normal people freak out in crowds this huge. We don't want something to set him off."

Ron started to say something to defend his friend. Harry patted his shoulder.

"Nothing will happen," Harry said. "Still, I'd feel better with them there."

"Fine," Ron grumbled. "I trust you, Harry."

"Us too," the twins said.

"We trusted Remus too," Harry countered.

"To be fair," Ron said. "It was Hermione who trusted him. You and I wanted to get out of there."

"I'll be sure to tell her that," Nym said.

Ron's face went white.