Summary:
It is several years after the war and Hermione Granger has become a renowned lawyer and champion for the social justice of magical creatures. However things go terribly awry when she undertakes a mission to assess the conditions of the wizarding world's werewolf prison colony. Now suddenly trapped on an island with violent werewolves Hermione must take on an unsavory ally if she is to survive. But can she trust him?

Author's Note: Hello dear readers, thank you for stopping in. This fic will be broken up into several parts but is meant to be more of a novella then on par with my multi-chapter work. Thank you again for reading and please leave a review if nothing than to let me know you are enjoying the piece (those little comments mean a great deal to this writer!)

Part I. Arrival

Hermione scowled at the scrolls. By now she had them nearly memorized and yet she still found herself rereading the documents in dismay. She was no closer to fully understanding the complicated mess she was currently en-route to handle no matter how many times she read the initial logs sent over from Larkey Island.

Larkey island or as it was dubbed by the press, Wolf Island, was the UK's solution to what to do with werewolves charged of violent crimes. Unable to put them with the prison's general population the Ministry decided to ship them off to a remote island where they weren't a risk to the public or their non-werewolf counterparts. .

More like out of sight, out of mind, Hermione thought as she rolled up one scroll only to trade it for another. She was all too familiar with the government's habit of neglecting its most vulnerable populations. It felt like the battle to have their voices heard was never-ending and Hermione was in the thick of it.

You can't save everyone, Ron had said.

Her mind drifted to Ron and their last argument before they decided to end their relationship for good. He had never liked her workaholic tendencies and while it had not been the trip that caused their relationship to fall apart it had perhaps been the catalyst. Their threadbare bond was worn thin by a chasm of differences formed between them long ago.

He had given her an ultimatum: her work or him. She thought his request had been unfair and in the end she chose her passion over whatever they once had. This wasn't about a paycheck, Hermione was committed to a cause of fighting injustice. Why didn't he understand that?

Hermione couldn't help but wonder if he had collected his things by now and what life would be like would she returned. Despite their cordialness in their last encounter Hermione knew things would be different.

She shook her head as if to dispel the thoughts, not wanting to mull it over too much further and chose instead to immerse herself in the work before her.

Hermione winced as she reread the document that had incited the investigation to begin with. The list of complaints that had been anonymously presented were nothing short of terrible: inadequate medical provisions, contaminated food and water, and most glaring: incidents of cruel punishments and torture on the prisoners.

This case will make you a lot of enemies, she remembered her boss saying although he might have said that specifically to ensure she did take the job; Hermione had not doubted the truth in his warning but of course it didn't dissuade her from taking the case all the same. Her reputation as the champion of justice for magical creatures had earned her more than a few foes both in the media and in court through the years and she was not about to stop now.

Even so, she knew without a doubt that she was stepping into a mess of a situation but that was why the ministry had asked her to go in the first place. Her job was simple on paper: Visit Wolf Island, interview the prisoners and guards and report her assessment to the Ministry's subcommittee to see if further action was necessary. In the end whatever decision was made about the prison colony was going to be made by someone else.

I just need to provide the facts, Hermione thought.

The task was not without its own perils. For one thing, the last piece of information she had concerning Wolf Island was that there had been a malfunction in the wards in part of the prison camp letting loose twenty violent felons into the island's jungle. Dangerous inmates on the loose would have been bad enough but given that the full moon was only three nights away added a little more risk to her voyage. More glumly, according to the warden's report they still had not been able to capture the escaped prisoners.

The ship rocked and jarred Hermione from her thoughts. I think I have done enough travelling by sea to last me awhile, she complained to herself.

One of Wolf Island's unique features was the fact that the only on or off the island was by boat, a fact that Hermione did not learn until after she agreed to the trip. She had only been on a ship once before as a small child with her parents on a cruise. It had hardly been the rocky experience she currently endured on her present journey. The constant sway and motion of the vessel had left her sick for the first two days and she was thankful when the nausea finally subsided. She was happy when the crew informed her it would not be much longer until they reached Wolf Island.

And just then there was a knock on the cabin door and Hermione beckoned the visitor inside.
"Miss Granger, the captain wanted me to inform you that we are coming up on the island soon. He wished to speak with you before we dock," the young sailor said. He couldn't have been much older than nineteen and blushed behind a halo of blonde curly hair as he spoke.

She saved him the further embarrassment by pretending not to notice, smiling politely. "Thank you I will finish my notes and meet with him shortly."

When the young man left Hermione tapped her wand on the desk and invoked a tidying spell. The loose parchment sprang to life, coiling up and staking themselves in an organized pile within moments. Satisfied, Hermione smoothed the wrinkles from her blouse and trousers as she stood. With a quick glance in the mirror to ensure her hair was adequately tamed for her next encounter, Hermione took the steps to the deck of the ship in search of the ship's captain.

She was greeted by a mist of sea water coming up over the vessel's main deck. The breeze actually felt refreshing compared to the musty air of her cabin interior. It did not take long for her to find the captain. The old man was standing in front of the helm and reminded Hermione of a storybook pirate. His face was red and leathery from a life at sea, hair bleached from the harsh sun.

He saw Hermione approach and gave a polite nod, "The island's afternoon fog has made visibility low but we should be docking in the next hour."

"Oh that's good news," Hermione said. "Have you heard any word on whether the wards are back up yet?"
"Ma'am they don't tell us that sort of thing, you'll have to ask yourself," he answered bluntly and after a pause added. "But I would guess not as last comms said there would be a full security escort waiting for us."

Hermione nodded as she processed the information. She wasn't surprised by the news that there would be a security escort, the witch had assumed as much given the state of matters.

"You should know, once we unload you and replenish supplies we are not going to stay in dock," the captain said to which Hermione raised her eyebrows in confusion.

"You are leaving me there?" Hermione asked. She wasn't particularly happy about being stranded on the island.

"We will return in three or four days, ma'am. It's protocol given the island's threat level for us not to linger about. Can't have any of those nasty monsters taking ahold of the boat."

She shot him a glare at his description of the inmates. "Regardless of their crimes, they are still human beings."

"Sorry, ma'am," he drawled with not an ounce of sincerity. "I'm more of a cat person myself."

Hermione shook her head and walked away despite that there was much she could have said to the old captain in that moment. Her temper flared but she wasn't going to get into it with the man when she had more pressing matters to prepare for.

I can handle this. I can make it three to four days on the island, she thought to herself as she went back to her cabin for the rest of the voyage. Despite repeating the words several times to herself Hermione reluctantly admitted she remained unconvinced.

As the captain predicted they arrived on the island an hour later under a thick veil of fog. The jungle landscape was engulfed in gray clouds that seemed to descend from the mountains dotting the horizon. On the shoreline appeared what must have been the island's port. It was a large dock but as Hermione predicted, there were no other boats.

About six wizards in somber uniforms greeted her. One of the wizards had a gold bar on his collar and was the first to approach Hermione as she off boarded the vessel.

"Miss Granger we have been expecting you. I am Mortimer Williams, head of operational security and I will be leading your escort detail."

"It is a pleasure to meet you Officer Williams. When can I meet with Warden Connelly? I have some important things I need to address with him."

The other wizards traded uneasy looks amongst each other. Williams cleared his throat before answering her question, "I don't think that will be possible Miss Granger. You see when the wards went down we lost contact with the warden and the officers that were in that sector. No one has been able to get over there to assess what exactly is going on. The entire main facility is off limits and we are currently operating out of the windward site where there are about 10 inmates still detained."

Things were indeed worse than Hermione could have imagined. A part of her considered getting back on the boat and going back until things were better under control but Hermione was noble to a fault and quickly decided that time was of the essence for her report.

"Okay. Well I suppose we should get going to the site then?" Hermione eventually replied.

"Yes ma'am, we should definitely do that. This is an anti-apparition location and the floo is also down so we will need to travel by broom."

Fantastic, Hermione said silently. She wasn't fond of heights and had never cared for travelling by flight but she was at least satisfactory in using a broom.

"My men will take your luggage. Are you able to ride on your own?"
"Yes," she said as he handed her a broom. It was nothing like the fancy styles Harry and Ginny coveted but Hermione wasn't picky as long as it kept her in the air.

They travelled along the coastline, zipping across the sand at a speed Hermione wasn't entirely comfortable with but was determined not to make a fuss. Altogether it was a smooth twenty five minute flight but Hermione was relieved to see the stone towers that marked their destination. She felt uneasy out in the open.

Hermione could see the silhouette of two guards perched high above. One of them made a gesture and the large metal and wood gates swung open for the group to fly in. The gates just as quickly shut as Hermione and the others dismounted from the brooms. One of the officers escorting her took the broom to put it back with the others.

The inside of the fortress was not completely indoors but comprised of what looked to be smaller buildings and large tents built on top of red dirt soil. They were surrounded by large stone walls and nothing else.

"The ceiling is one big ward, keeps the rain out for the most part but you will still have to deal with mosquitos," Williams said as he noticed her peering at her surroundings.

"May I ask where are the inmates kept?" Hermione asked.

Williams pointed to the distance, "They are in the north half of the site."

Hermione nodded. "Good, I would like to begin my interviews immediately."

The officer hesitated. "I don't know about that ma'am, surely in the morning would be best? You must be quite tired from your travels."

Hermione inspected the wizard's expression with mild suspicion but conceded as a yawn escaped her lips. She was in fact exhausted from hardly sleeping on the boat trip to the island. The next several days were going to require a great deal of mental stamina and years of self-punishing behavior had taught her to heed her body's signs a little more diligently. She did need the rest.

"That will be acceptable then, first thing in the morning. If at all possible I would like to see a roster of the current inmates you have here by tonight though."

"I can do that," Williams said and seemed relieved that Hermione did not push the issue of doing interviews that the evening. "I will have one of my men bring it by in a bit. If you will please follow me I can show you your quarters now."

Hermione's abode was a makeshift barracks room. It was hardly glamorous but then again Hermione had lived in far worse conditions. By early evening she was in the middle of casting several tidying spells to rid the room of its accessory film of dust when there was a knock on the door. True to his word Williams had made sure the roster was delivered.

Hermione sat on her bed and quickly scanned the names of the werewolf inmates. Some of the names she vaguely recognized from past cases she had read about at one time or another but one name in particular stopped her in her tracks.

Fenrir Greyback

Hermione's heart began racing and she had to quell the anxiety that just seeing the name inspired in her. Of course she should have at least considered that he would have been on the island. And yet she had put that particular werewolf out of her mind for many years.

Her mind flashed to their encounter years ago and how close she had come to becoming one of his many victims. She could still envision those lethal gold eyes staring down at her.

Hermione forced herself to banish her fears. It did not change anything that he was here. She still had a duty to carry out. But all the same Hermione struggled to fall asleep that night. She tossed and turned before eventually falling into a restless slumber where Hermione dreamed of those familiar gold eyes watching her from the shadows.