Hey everyone,
So, as you know the Poll in regards for these stories is now down and I decided to come to a conclusion. These four stories that you see here WILL become part of my regular schedule. I know I said in Rituals that they won't, but they will. However, once they are done, there is going to be a slight change to my schedule.
For now, I will be writing the four stories that were highest on the poll, yet once those are done, I will start putting effort in the challenges I love the most. I know I asked for your opinion, but to be honest, there are just a few previews that I felt more achieved with when I finished them than others and I want to focus on those.
Okay, enjoy,

Venquine1990

Becoming A Pack
Chapter 01
Full Moon Night

Harry's POV

After everything that happened – Lupin proving that Black was innocent, hearing the truth of how my parents met their end, successfully catching the one responsible and getting the offer of my own godfather to come and live with him – do I feel kind of stupid for not expecting something like this to ruin everything good that happened.
Now, Pettigrew – the true traitor – has fled, Sirius has been thrown into the Forbidden Forest, Snape had tried strangling me for disarming him and I have a mad werewolf slowly approaching me, a werewolf that is actually the inner beast of my most favorite of all teachers and who had forgotten to take a special potion.

Looking at the wild, feral beast as he approaches us on his hind legs with his claws extended on his front legs and his teeth gnashing over each other as he growls at us, do I dare to take only a single, furtive look into the wild eyes of the beast, only to see a bunch of emotions I could not, for the life of me, have expected.
A strong protective anger, a form of happiness that comes with a freedom of mind and will – the same I feel when on a broom – and a deep, heartfelt need to separate the group that is standing beside me, consisting of Professor Snape, my female best friend Hermione Granger and my male best friend, Ronald Weasley.
Looking closer at the eyes in an effort to uncover these emotions, do I catch the werewolf's attention, yet when it turns it's muzzle my way, do I see a deep, instinctual care and love I had not expected, until suddenly I remember what the man and his friend had told me, how my father and his friends had helped this beast.
How they had become Animagus and helped the man-beast before me embrace the inner animal and instantly, I realize why those emotions are shining in those feral eyes. "Lupin formed a pack with my parents. He considers me his pack cub. He's not feral – he's protective." And with that realization comes a whole new set of instincts.

Crouching down to my hands and feet, do I allow for a soft breath to leave my chest and lungs, passing through my vocal cords and coming out of my parting lips with the sound of a soft, needy whine, the same whine a young born pup would make when calling for its parent and instantly drawing the werewolf's attention.
The growling of the feral beast stops and his eyes turn confused and worried, his body lowering itself down on all fours and, taking this as a sign that I can approach the creature, do I try to clumsily crawl forward on hands and feet. I try as only a few steps on my way, my path is being blocked by Snape's outstretched arm.
Yet before the man can do so much as glare at me, does the werewolf start growling, does he raise himself up and does an instinct deep inside of me make me snap at the man's hand with my own human teeth, causing for my most-hated teacher and my two friends to draw back with looks of shock on their faces.

I ignore this, only a small part of me caring for the fearful shock that I can see on the faces of my friends, and turn back to the calmed werewolf, continuing my track and feeling encouraged by the emotions I can see shining in his deep amber brown eyes. Then, when I am in arm's reach, does the werewolf reach out.
Raising himself only a small bit does the beast lift one of his front legs and I carefully dip my head under it, lying the back of my head against the palm of his paw. The werewolf seems to happily accept this as a pleased growl comes from the animal's muzzle and he slowly, with a gentle paw, pulls me to come closer.

I crouch over and when I am crouched down on hands and feet next to the beast, does the werewolf move himself so that he's back on all fours and does he move his muzzle over the top of my head, his wet nose slicking through my messy black and his wet tongue coming out of his mouth to lick over the top of my ear.
This sensation makes me feel ticklish and while fighting the urge to snicker, does the sound of a happy yip actually escape my throat, making me tense with the wonder if – perhaps – there could be a canine Animagus alive deep inside of me. Yet this seems to be exactly what the werewolf above me has wanted to hear.
The animal raises himself back on his hind legs, lies his head in his neck and emits a howl that causes for Hermione to shriek in fear, yet all I hear is elation and a deep instinctual love sounding through the voice of the animal and it seems I am not the only one as a wild-furred black dog that just appeared starts to howl alongside his friend.

Recognizing Sirius for his own Animagus form, do I focus on the instincts deep within me one more time and while keeping myself to my crouched position do I lie my head back like my godfather and his friend and do I allow for the sense of belonging that I get from the two canines to escape me in the sound of an elated howl.
The werewolf and dog respond to this by howling even harder and then the dog approaches the two of us, his head low and his thread careful as a sign that he submits to the strength of the beast beside me, yet the werewolf only repeats the process he did with me, raising his paw to the animal and leading him to come closer.
The dog then looks from the werewolf to me and back and while – when he gazes at me – I can almost hear him ask if I'm alright, does the dog look at the werewolf just a little longer as if mentally asking for something and the growl the dog receives does indeed sound agreeing, making me amazed at the bond between the two.

Yet this amazement is short lived as suddenly the canine before me moves with speed I had not expected of the animal and before I know it, does he have his teeth cutting through the back of my robe and does he use the muscles in his mouth and neck to actually lift me up and make me land on his black, thick-furred back.
Grabbing onto the fur near his shoulder pads in a shocked stupor, do I feel the muscles under his fur move as the dog turns and follow the werewolf that actually growls and snaps at my friends and tutor, scaring them away from the tunnel under the Whomping Willow before the canine animal disappears into the tunnel himself.
This makes me realize that this tunnel will probably be the place I will spend the night and I quickly turn to my friends, catching Hermione's attention as I hiss: "Find Scabbers." Before the dog and I follow the werewolf into the dark, low-ceiled depths of the tunnel, the same where I was offered a family – that now became my pack.

There the werewolf moves over to a small crevice in the right wall that is shaped in a crescent form and the wolf growls first at the dog and then at me, yet somehow I am able to understand what he wants of me, at which I gently slide off the dog's back and, on hands and knees, trot over to the crescent shaped crevice.
The dog follows me and lies himself in the hollow part of the wall, his back against the wall and my own form lying in the small part of his side as I crouch down and cuddle up against his side and the werewolf comes over, softly nipping at both my hairline and the fur on the dog's head in a deeply affectionate gesture.
He then wants to lie down, yet suddenly his ears tilt and a second later he is standing at our feet, his hackles raised – only to yelp in utter pain as a horrible looking curse hits him in the chest and makes him crash against the staircase that is further down the tunnel and leads up to the Shrieking Shack where he slides down in pain.

"Potter, get your – ARGH!" I heard Snape snarl as he crouches over to us, yet more than that I hadn't heard as I had actually seen red at the fact that this outsider dared to enter our den and attack the Alpha of my pack and so I had lunged at the bastard, reached for his wand arm and while clawing at his shoulder and chest, did I bite into it.
The man drops his wand in shock and I instantly decide to take advantage of this and make use of my hard-trained reflexes and well-earned speed to let go off the man's arm, not even caring for the fact that my teeth cut through his flesh and that there is now blood on my lips as instead I swipe up the man's wand with my teeth.
"Potter, prove that you aren't the same untrained, uncouth beast that –." Snape growls at me as he tries to stem the blood dripping down from his arm, yet I growl as I focus all my strength on my jaw and with a resonating crack do I bite down on the man's wand, the taste of wood and a single hair that tastes pure filling my mouth.

The man looks shocked as he sees two ends of his wand falling from my growling lips and then glares at me as he snarls: "Fine. If you want to be the beast's next meal, be my guest. I've done my part. I'm done wasting my time on Potter's failure of a son. What Lily ever saw in him – or you – I will never understand. Farewell, Potter."
Yet while the man snarls all this, do I just keep growling at him, my eyes burning with rage over the fact that he hurt my pack Alpha and the taste of his wand still on my tongue and the man turns around, yet instantly I feel the pup within me come up and I let out a smirk as I strike again, burying my teeth in the back of his robes.
And another painful scream fills the tunnel as I bite right into the man's bony ass, yet only shallowly and the man actually speeds up his crouched run to a speed I didn't think possible at a tunnel this low and the man's cursing and death threats to me and my pack echo through for some time as the man flees the tunnel.

I then turn around and see that Sirius has helped Lupin back on his legs, yet the werewolf seems to be losing energy fast and I instantly remember the one spell that undoes most magic, yet dare not to reach for my wand while in the presence of my Pack Alpha. Yet then Sirius looks at me and nods his doggy head with an imploring gaze.
I nod back and lean back on my legs as I pull my wand from the pocket of my black jacket with white stripes on the arms and I move slowly, making sure that Lupin notices me and that I keep my wand arm down until I hear the Alpha whine, his sound imploring me to do my job and I nod as I wave my wand and whisper:
"Finité Incantatem." And instantly I can tell that the werewolf feels the curse being lifted as his body seems to regain strength, making me put my wand back in my pocket with a sigh of relief before Lupin growling regains my attention and when I look up, do I see him motioning back for the crevice with his muzzle.

And only then do I notice it. The concern over my last few exams, my fears for the appeal, my concern for Hagrid as he waited for the execution, the shock of everything that happened at the shack, my fear over seeing Lupin transform and everything that just happened have worn me down to the last bit of my physical energy.
And so I smile at the werewolf gratefully and happily move back to the crevice, Sirius already lying there with a doggy grin of pride shown on his muzzle and he cuddles his muzzle across my hair as I lie my body closely against his and then feel Lupin encase me from the other side before my body welcomes the land of dreams.

Hey everyone,
So, like this chapter, this story will probably not be a long one. At most, I suspect it will be between a two-shot and the length of Parental Intervention. I do like this idea and I am sure this concept has potential, I just don't feel like I am the one to bring out that potential. If you feel you can, let me know and I will happily read it.
Anyway, enjoy,

Venquine1990