The Beast Within - Chapter 11

Hestia and Nym sat flanking him on either side. Today was a test run, the first step in rejoining society since his transformation. The first plan had been a stroll around Diagon Alley, but that was shot down by Madam Bones. Even the thought of a couple more Aurors present didn't make her comfortable with the idea. They settled on Hogsmeade as another option. It wasn't nearly as busy with Hogwarts still out for summer break, but it was still populated enough to test his control.

So far, Harry was doing well. They had taken a stroll around town. Harry made a concentrated effort to ignore the two other Aurors that followed them at a distance. There was an extra eye on him in the form of Mad-Eye Moody, a decorated retired Auror that had trained Nym. Technically, he just happened to be there on the day that the trip was planned. The fact that the Aurors present took their orders from him was pure coincidence.

Keeping his instincts in check wasn't nearly as hard as he had expected. He did notice that the female population drew his attention more than before. That could be written off due to his age. He hadn't attacked anyone either. The dragon side of him seemed content. If anything, he felt sort of protective of the people around him. The instinctual part of him knew that he was more powerful than the witches and wizards he had encountered. It didn't make him look at those around him as lesser. They were different and there was a call from deep within that wanted to keep them from harm.

The one thing he had noticed was that he could feel the currents of magic in the air. It wasn't as obvious as an actual breeze, but it was definitely there. If he focused he could sense the power of the nearby people. Each person had a unique scent to their magic. Until now he had just written the sensation off as part of his enhanced senses.

Another unexpected development was how his own scent had mingled with Hestia. It was at its strongest directly after having sex, but it still lingered on her. The mingling didn't seemed to happen in other ways as well. Close relationships like family and friends created a subtle, constant undertone. The process worked in reverse as well. Those people with strong negative emotions left an imprint as well. A discordant, foul odor that thankfully only emerged due to proximity. Depending on the flow of the magical 'breeze' he could identify people from quite the distance.

Harry had discovered that he didn't so much as have just one new 'sense' but multiple. He was more tuned in to body language, physical scents, pheromones, and could easily hear heartbeats. If he listened really closely he could hear the creak and pull of muscles. It did not make eating around others a pleasant experience. Unfortunately, slipping away to be alone at every meal wasn't an option. Like a true Gryffindor, he charged onward, forcing himself to confront the problem rather than shy away.

The three of them had spent the better part of an hour in the Three Broomsticks. Their food had long since been consumed and they had moved on to nursing their drinks. Harry had dropped a handful of gold in the tip jar when he realized they were taking up a table that paying customers couldn't use. That seemed to smooth things over rather nicely.

"Are you done yet?" Nym asked for the third time in the last twenty minutes.

"I think so." Harry nodded. "I can tune most of it out."

"Thank Merlin." Nym muttered. "My ass was going numb."

"I could rub it to get the feeling back." Harry shot her a roguish smile.

"Nice try, Potter." Nym rolled her eyes. "Ask if Jones needs any attention."

Nym had figured out that Hestia and Harry had hooked up. They hadn't been quiet in the basement. Not to mention the fact that all the tension Hestia had around Harry was replaced by a totally different type.

Hestia thought for a moment, then shook her head.

"My bum is fine." Hestia shrugged.

"Yes it is." Harry purred.

"Stop it." Nym groaned. "At least wait until we're back at the house."

They took a stroll around the town. Eventually, they ended up at the Shrieking Shack. Harry studied it with a mixture of curiosity and contempt. He didn't know what the plan was for the full moon yet, but he didn't want to spend the three nights locked in the shack. Hopefully, he had proved that he could be trusted to remain free. That thought was shattered once he actually thought about it. There was no way the Ministry, or the parents of Hogwarts students, would allow a creature with an impressive danger rating to run wild on the full moon. He wondered what they had come up with for a plan.

Harry didn't want to stay in the Shrieking Shack. If he had to, then he was going to spend some time restoring the place. He could probably convince Hermione and Ron to help as well.

Hermione. He had been so busy that he hadn't thought about her for a while. The fact that she had repeatedly snuck into the hospital to sit with him was sweet. Maybe kissing her wasn't a good idea. It could have scared her off. That was a depressing thought. Even if they weren't fit to be a couple, she was still a good friend.  Sure, they had kissed a few times, but it had been a spur of the moment thing. Emotions were running high, and he hadn’t adjusted to his new instincts yet.

He needed to send her an owl.

His thoughts were interrupted as the breeze shifted. A trio of tantalizing scents made him let out a hungry purr.

"What's going on, Sparky?" Nym asked.

"Something smells good." Harry raised his nose and took an appreciative sniff.

"We're close enough to Hogwarts for your sniffer to catch the food from the kitchen." Nym offered.

"Not food." Harry growled.

He stalked forward aiming to head into the forest toward Hogwarts.

"Harry!" Hestia called. "What are you doing?"

"Following my nose." Harry gave her a feral smile.

The two Aurors flinched. He paused when he saw the duo draw their wands. His head slowly cocked to the side in a silent question.

"Your eyes." Nym had steel in her voice. "They're glowing."

"They usually do that when he… gets excited." Hestia blushed.

"What's going on, Harry?" Nym asked once more. "You were doing great until now. Not even Rosemerta got you this worked up."

The busty cougar that owned the Three Broomsticks hadn't made it easy with all the signals she was sending. It helped that she hadn't given any true signs of interest. She was flirty and didn't shy away from using her looks to entice her customers, but she lacked the usual markers of arousal. Her heart rate had increased when she recognized him, but it was general excitement rather than sexual interest.

This scent though. It called him on a primal level. The full moon was still a few days away, but it didn't matter. His inner-beast hungered to track down the scent. He could feel a familiar heat stirring in his chest.

A trail of smoke puffed out of his nose as his breathing picked up. Tingling heat along the skin of his arms. The two Aurors tensed even more. Harry looked down at his arms to see a strip of black scales from his hands up to his elbows. So far, only his pinky had taken the form of a claw.

"I'm not going to hurt you." His voice came out as a harsh rumble.

The change did little to ease the tension from the two witches.

"I just need to find out what that is." Harry felt the wave of heat start at the base of his skull before it flowed down his spine.

His clothes strained under the change. For once it was a good thing the hand-me-downs were so large. The shoes around his feet were shredded as his claws took form. His enhanced senses made it too easy to track where the additional Aurors were.

"Harry." Nym forced her voice to remain calm. "Turn back or we will be forced to incapacitate you."

A flare of magic to his left alerted him to an incoming spell. Harry dropped to all fours. A powerful stunner zipped through the air. He stole a quick glance at the Auror who had shot it.

"Dawlish, what the fuck!" Nym yelled.

Harry hopped to his feet. He gave the scared Auror a wink then dashed off into the forest. His wide stride carried him through the trees fast enough to rival a broom. Closer to one of the Comets that the school used instead of a Nimbus or his Firebolt. It was still faster than he had ever ran before.

There was a tangible shift in the air when he crossed over from the normal trees to the Forbidden Forest. It was thick with a primal magic that made his senses go wild. The sound of ripping fabric was lost to him as he sped through the trees. If he had been more aware, he would know that he was now in a different version of his dragon form.

The scales had stopped around his forehead, leaving his face still human-ish aside from the glowing eyes and mouth full of sharp teeth. His hair had been replaced with downy phoenix feathers of roughly the same length. The scales stopped along his collar bone leaving his chest and torso clear until just above his crotch.

None of that mattered at the moment. All of his focus was on the overpowering scent that continued to get stronger with each step. He didn't slow his pace until the sound of overlapping voices and the familiar feeling of magic washed over him. A thin barrier slid in place over his eyes as he got closer. They had discovered he did indeed have the basilisk's ability to kill with his vision. Thankfully, there was an easy fix for it.

Harry burst from the trees into a clearing. Multiple teams of witches and wizards worked to calm down a trio of dragons. The people were too busy to notice his arrival, but the dragons weren't. Their attention was locked onto him. Vaguely, he recognized one of the wizards from the 'welcome back' party the Weasley's had put together.

He slowed his approach, striding confidently closer. The dragon-handlers were left in the lurch as the trio of magical creatures stopped struggling. A wave of magic that hadn't been used in centuries swirled around the dragons. Their forms shrunk and shifted to take shape of three humanoid women similar to his own new form. One had bright red scales and features that were similar to a woman of Asian heritage. Another had muted green scales, and her face made her look like she could be related to Katie Bell. The third was the tallest of the three, her scales were color of permafrost and had somewhat Nordic features. They stared at Harry with a hunger that clearly matched his own.

"Harry?" The Weasley wizard spoke softly. "Is that you?"

§Shh.§ Harry held up a finger. §This doesn't concern you.§

His appearance combined with the unconscious use of Parseltongue caused the people in the area to shiver. The trio of dragon-ladies did as well but for different reasons. Smoke curled from his mouth as Harry stalked closer to the transformed creatures. His eyes flicked to the enclosures behind the trio.

§Hello.§ Harry managed to rumble and hiss at the same time. §What a gorgeous sight to see.§