Chapter 11

"Okay, so what the hell happened last night?" Tasha asked as she strode over to her group of friends missing only one Tony Stark and one Bruce Banner at morning breakfast.

Today was one of the very rare occasions where the social group dared to sit at the same table as each other, despite the mostly strict rule of house separation in great hall, as was the schools tradition. Even though none of them really held much stock in the concept, it was generally enforced and though it required an inordinate amount of restraint and annoyance, they followed the rule. But only because it sent a message to the teachers that they'd only break it for exceptional circumstances, thus generally discouraging prying teachers when they did. Today was one of those days.

"Beats me, Stark just shooed us of to our rooms like everything was all peaches and cream but it didn't feel right, right?" Steve questioned with concern. On the one hand he'd love to believe things could be that simple, to trust blindly in his friends. And although he did trust that Tony wouldn't do anything legitimately bad per say, he didn't trust that he'd been telling the whole truth. Stark had a habit of keeping bits and pieces to himself, and this was not the sort of situation where Steve could let that fly.

"Natasha, have you not questioned Stark about the events?"

"Yeah, Thunderstruck's got a point, you must of seen him."

Tasha gave the pair a look of slight disdain before retorting, "unlike some I don't make a point of stalking everyone I find attractive."

Clint managed to pull a mocking face of shock that somewhat helped to take his mind off the bigger picture, but his heart wasn't really in the gesture. His cool exterior had started to recover last night from the slight falterings it had been experiencing as he'd gotten more and more worried about Bruce. He'd had faith that Tony had taken care of it, but the reality of exactly how false that security had been was crashing down around him faster and faster with every passing moment in which Bruce and Tony still didn't show up for breakfast. For the first time Clint had been the one to initiate the breaking of table rules as he moved to sit with Steve and Thor just before Tasha had shown up, deciding today was not a day he wanted to try and chat to Hufflepuffs on his own table. Today wasn't a day to be away from the group.

Natasha of course picked up on his underlying tensions instantly, but as she could relate to his feelings of dread she didn't make a point of it. Not even a super subtle one only he'd noticed. Now wasn't the time.

"I guess," Steve started out with worry twinging his voice, "we'll just have to see how this all plays out."

"But Rodgers, we cannot let Banner or Stark come into harms way, what if-"

"No he's right Thor," Tasha cut off. "We're gonna have to wait this one out for a bit, let them come to us, then we'll see what happens."

Silence fell over the four worrying teens as they tried to eat something before the day ahead, Thor being the most successful of them all with two sausages and a piece of dry toast making it past his nervous lips. Conversation felt disrespectful and out of place in light of all of their respective moods and when Hammer made a snide comment while passing the table about how their boy band was breaking up, Tasha barely had the effort to hex him. Barely.

It seemed the whole school was muttering about the disturbances that had become noticeable to everyone, however these were not the disturbances in the group, but rather the ones in the school.

It was common knowledge at this point that someone or something had broken in to the school the night before, knocked down several painting and left a trail of water and blood in it's path. Perfect fodder for gossip in a school full of teens raging with hormones, but as gossip always is, it was far from the truth. The most popular theory was being spread by the muggle borns as it would seem, saying they'd heard stories of bears three times the height of a student breaking into schools all across America, a story which made little sense in the context seeing as they were not in America, yet it spread none the less. All the theories were clearly nonsense but any that took away from the truth were blessings in Tony's eyes he thought to himself as he strolled right up to his group and started stuffing the piles of untouched food around them into a bag.

"Hey guys, wild night last night right, would you believe it, a fire breathing monster, who would of guessed, are there any french bread things left, oh would you look at the time, I really need to get around to inventing a way to pause that."

Tony tried to flee the scene but was stopped in his tracks but the low booming voice of Thor waning with the single word of: "Stark."

"What happened out there last night?" Steve practically demanded, trying his best to scowl at his friend and actually doing a pretty good job.

Tony turning around smoothly gave a million dollar smile and said with all the casual ease he could muster, "I told you, I handled it."

"Handled what Tony?" stated Tasha with a cold glare.

"I handled Bruce, and not in the way your thinking but boy do I wish-"

"You know what's going on with him."

"Yeah, he was scared of the fire breather Steve, now I know you're not a genius but that's not hard to puzzle out."

"You're not telling us something," Tasha accused folding her arms and getting to her feet. Though she'd stopped growing last year and Tony seemed to be in the middle of a spurt she still held a solid one inch advantage over the genius, not that it mattered though, Tasha was scary as hell.

"Okay maybe me and Bruce did get up to some extra activities, but you know the guy, if we bring it up he'll get embarrassed-"

"Tony!" Steve finally yelled. "I may be slow but I'm no idiot. Now my friend is upset, maybe even in danger, and I don't stand for that sort of thing. Now tell us what's wrong with Banner."

The pause was deafening. Tony's reluctant features pulled into a grimace and a frown before finally setting as resolve. "I can't tell you," he resolved to protect Bruce. "I can't 'cause he doesn't want me to and it's not my secret to tell and even though I sort of think he's over reacting to how you guys will react, it's Bruce, guys it's Bruce."

Tony's surprisingly earnest face made one of it's rare appearances and the group knew they wouldn't be getting any answers from Stark. Just like everyone knew that Clint would do anything for Tasha or Steve anything for Thor, it was common knowledge that you couldn't get Tony to go against what Bruce really wanted, even if Bruce himself didn't know what that was. It was a lost cause.

"I'm gonna bring him back guys. I'm bringing him back to the group if it's the last thing I do, and I'm not joking or lying or-"

"We know Stark," Tasha said, finally speaking up. "Just, don't screw this up okay?"

"Rodger that," Tony said with a mock salute before darting off with the food to who knows where.

"Well that helped a whole lot," Clint quipped with his tongue poking at his inner cheek.

Steve watched Tony go though the door at almost a run and sighed. He guessed there was hope in that at least, hope the Tony could fix this. However every one of them knew that Tony lacked one thing that could be crucial in dealing with a damaged Bruce, and that was that Tony was never the best communicator.

xxx

When Tony finally did re-enter his room he found on his bed an actually sleeping Bruce who couldn't help himself but to collapse from the extensive exhaustion that had overtaken his body. His cuts hurt and his bruises throbbed and his scrapes stung like hell but the overwhelming force had inevitably been the need to just pass out and let the worst of it pass, after all he was due for another round that night.

Tony ran his hand through Bruce's thick matted hair pulling out a twig and teasing it between his fingers absently as he looked down at the boys limp mass engulfed in his sheets. The blood stains didn't matter, he could always get more sheets, but he only had one Bruce.

Jarvis looked over the stack of books he was perched in amongst, his claws digging gently into one of the covers and he tilted his head in concern. Bruce was always nice to Jarvis, where sometimes Clint would playfully taunt him in a manner that Jarvis found more patronizing than amusing, Tasha and Steve generally ignored him and Thor was a bit over enthusiastic in his petting, Bruce knew exactly what he was doing. Bruce knew the little spot under his chin that was the best place to gentle scratch a nail over. Bruce knew to treat Jarvis like an individual with feelings and emotions and thoughts, not just a mindless dragon. And though he didn't understand what Jarvis was saying like Tony did, he still respected him.

Jarvis didn't understand exactly what was happening to Bruce. He didn't know the human connotations of what it meant to be a werewolf; what it would do to his school life, his career prospects, what would happen when he transformed. What Jarvis did know was that he liked Bruce a lot, and Bruce wasn't okay, and this made Jarvis not feel all the okay himself.

Jarvis blew a stream of smoke Tony's way and butted his nose against the nearest book with a a low growl.

"Yeah, he'll be okay buddy. We're gonna make sure he's okay."

xxx

Steve and Tasha stood together on the grass by the lake in their short break between second and third lesson casting stones into the water as they always did whenever they both wound up alone in the same place with any form of water nearby, even if it just so happened that both of them felt it wasn't really the most appropriate focus of their time, given the circumstances. It was what they did.

"So," Tasha said, breaking the not quite uncomfortable, more mutually needed, silence. "Do you think this whole Bruce thing will finally get Stark to admit his feelings or are they gonna keep playing the 'oh no he's straight' game?"

"Natasha, I'm not sure that's really what we should be focusing on right now."

Steve flung a stone, it bounced five times and sank.

"I know. But what else are we gonna talk about. Stark's new choice of awkward teenage beard trimmer?"

Natasha's stone bounced six times then sank. She turned to Steve and smirked a challenge. Six was today's record. Steve's raised eyebrows showed he wasn't impressed.

"I suppose you have a point. I don't know, does Bruce even like Tony?"

"Are you kidding? The kids practically nuts for the guy. Have you seen his charms essays?"

Steve's stone bounced four times and sank, he scowled.

"No, why? Should I?"

Tasha bounced three, but still in the lead she barely noticed.

"Because they might as well be called 'Oh isn't Tony Charming' essays. It shouldn't be possible to draw that many little hearts around a name. The professor turns bright red every lesson and the poor kid hasn't noticed once."

Steve's stone only just managed a seventh bounce. Natasha gave an approving smile to Steve's teasing look.

"Well then I guess there's nothing stopping them hooking up."

"They still wont though."

"What, why?"

Natasha's stone bounce four times before the giant squid knocked it out of the air.

"Same reason you and Thor aren't together."

Steve tripped as he threw his stone and stumbled to catch himself and prevent falling into the lake.

"What!"

Tasha smirked.

"Come on Rodger's you've got it so bad it hurts to watch."

Once Steve found his footing all his brain power could be fully focused on the most important of matters: spluttering mindlessly.

"I don't- I mean I've never really thought- He's just so- And I'm only- I'd never-"

"Full sentences Rodgers," Tasha said with a sideways smile as she focused on her next throw, almost ignoring the baffled teen flailing beside her.

"We're just friends! Good friends. Best friends even but not- He doesn't like me!"

"Bingo buddy, and that's exactly what Stark thinks about Banner and Banner thinks about Stark. At least me and Barton have the decency to know we're in love with each other, it's just more fun pretending we're not."

Her arm swished past in a perfect arc, sending a small speckled grey stone bouncing across the lake in delicate long skips. It bounced eight times and sank, however Tasha didn't see as she was already walking back up to the castle, leaving a very baffled Steve staring open mouthed toward where her stone had sank. They'd never gotten to eight before.

However it only took a few seconds before Steve scrambled after her with jumbled cries of: "but he doesn't like me!" "He's been after Jane for years!" "Which is irrelevant because I like girls also!" "I danced with Peggy Carter last month!" "What do you mean you're in love with Clint!"

xxx

When Bruce finally started to wake up from his extensively heavy sleep he was instantly aware of four painful things. One, he was in actually physical pain, all over, but special mention must be made of the cut on his arm and his searing headache. A headache that was in no way helped by the sound of Tony casting loud spells, no matter how much the pillow muffled it. Two, an all encompassing feeling of fear and dread that what was happening here was too good to be true, but that one he tried to push aside. Three, hunger. And four, the realization that he was going to have to do it again tonight. After tonight he'd have a month. A month to calm down, recover, regroup his thoughts. After tonight he'd be okay for a while. But he still had to face tonight.

"Time?" he instantly mumbled, not daring to open his eyes lest the dim lights of Tony's room cause his headache to get any further in ending his brain activity permanently.

"Seven thirty. Night."

Tony's response was absent minded however, as though he was lost in thought or deep in concentration. And when either of those things happened, Tony was prone to losing track of time.

Not wanting to risk turning and killing Tony due to a miscalculation of hours and his head hurting to much to check his watch, Bruce begrudgingly forced his eyes open and heaved his body into what could be called a siting position, however it felt more like holding up the weight of Hagrid on wobbly sticks than anything else. When he managed to steady himself enough to lift his wrist into his blurry field of vision Bruce finally realized he wasn't wearing his watch, and a second later remembered why.

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold on there buddy," Tony said jumping down from his table mid spell when he noticed Bruce forcing himself to his feet, or at least trying, and heading for the passage. "You can hardly talk, where could you possibly be going. If you say class I'll find it adorable but classes ended a while ago so sit your ass down."

"My... My watch," Bruce stumbled through exhausted breathes. If he didn't recover soon he wouldn't be able to make it into the forest. Tony would have to help him. Tony who was very much in his personal space right now Bruce realized when he noticed he wasn't actually standing but being held up. "I have to... I have to find my..."

"No fret my sometimes furry potions partner, I've got it. I found it out in the forest a bit worse for wear but I promise I haven't messed with it. Cross my heart hope have a week of detention. With Snape. While handcuffed to him."

A series of brutal coughs suddenly overcame Bruce, grating at his wind pipe and as he collapsed down to his knees Tony dropped with him, catching him by the shoulder with his soar right hand, aching from casting. Thick unclean brown locks stuck to Bruce's forehead as it dripped with sweat and his eyes screwed tightly shut as he spluttered for breath between the ragged coughs. When would it be over.

Just then Bruce felt something soft brush against his hand and pealing his eyes open ever so slightly he looked down to see Jarvis looking up at him and trying to push a tissue into the hand he had pressed into his side. His wide black eyes looked up sadly and Bruce looked back with the smallest of smiles.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead Bruce moved backwards as to have his back resting as gently as possible against the side of Tony's bed and Tony to pulled away to sit cross legged against his stack of books. The distance was unpleasant but both thought it appropriate and so they sat.

In silence.

Waiting.

"Can I have my watch back."

Scrambling to his feet Tony grabbed Bruce's watch from the desk. The strap was so close to completely snapping in two but Tony hadn't fixed it. Bruce's watch was not his to fix.

"Thanks," Bruce mumbled sadly scanning his eyes over the broken watch. It still told the time but he wouldn't be able to wear it anymore. Not without risking it's destruction. But it seemed appropriate somehow. Now they were both broken.

"I can fix it if you want, I'm-"

"No." Bruce placed the watch gently down on the bedside table to his left, running his fingers over the gouges in the leather, taking note of the dried blood on the hands. He was right, it was 11:10 at night. "No it should stay like this."

Silence.

"If you're sure."

"It wont be the same watch if you fix it."

Silence.

"Everyone's missed you by the way. Steve and Thor's grades have plummeted without your genius mind, Tasha hasn't even looked at a pot of tea without you there so you could do your weird tea ritual thing, which I still don't get by the way."

Tony had slipped back into his joking and charismatic persona, and although fairly put on, that had never stopped it from making Bruce smile before.

"Clint has actually been 37% less stoic than normal, which I consider a miracle. It might even end up with him and Tasha finally hooking up, though give it a few more weeks and my bet's on him carrying a Bruce shaped plushy around with him as a coping device... That would be hilarious, on second thought maybe we give it a week before pulling you back in."

Bruce wasn't smiling this time.

Moving across the room and squeezing Bruce's shoulder tightly, but not so much that it would hurt any bruises beneath the robes, he locked eyes with a pair tainted with pain.

"Hey, we really have missed you buddy."

"But would they if they knew?"

"Of course! Have you met our friends?"

"Tony!" Bruce shouted, startling Tony as he was cut off. There was the fear again. Bruce flinched away when he saw it and after a few forced deep breaths he felt calm enough to continue. "You don't know that."

Tony sighed. He didn't know that. He believed it. He believed it with every ounce of his being. Tony had more faith in his friends than could really be considered healthy, but that was just a fact.

Steve probably didn't even know what a werewolf was and so they could just flat out teach him there was nothing wrong with it. Clint, having spent a lot of his life around his brothers circus mates, would almost certainly be accepting of any difference. Tasha, though brutal and cold on the outside, deeply cared for her friends, something she'd shown off time and time again in subtle ways. A concerned glance here, a word of caution there, but most of all her constant vigilance over all of them. No one payed attention to possible threats like Natasha. Thor was probably the most likely to hold old prejudices other than Tony himself. Old pure blood family, a father holding a very high position in the wizarding world, a lot of stock in honer and old law. Thor was logically a risk, but you only had to look at the guy to know he'd be fine with it, he was like a puppy with thumbs. Gryffindor to the core that one, and loyalty running even deeper than his pure blood. Thor would be fine.

But it was Bruce's choice, and in the end that was all that mattered.

Getting back to his feet Tony set back to work on casting the spells he partially skipped class to work on (the other reason being to keep an eye on Bruce). As a long purple bolt of magic started blasting away at what looked to be a huge hole in Tony's wall, Bruce pushed himself slightly forwards aiming for a better look.

After several minutes of watching Tony focusing hard on his work and blasting away at his room with various spells his curiosity managed to overpower his fatigue.

"Tony, what are you doing? I was under the impression you weren't one for huge gaping wall holes as decorative pieces."

"Then you clearly don't know me very well."

"Tony?"

"I'm making you a place to transform wolfbrain. What do expect me to carry you into the middle of the forest three times a month, a huge hell no to that. I'm far to lazy for that amount of physical exercise. Gross, other than you I'm the laziest person in the group."

While Tony finished up his final spell, he took a moment to admire his work, as he often did with pretty much anything he ever made ever.

He'd created an off shot room from his own covered by unbreakable glass paneling on the wall that faced into his room and heated concrete colored green and purple (Bruce's favorite colours of course) on the other three walls and ceiling. It was soundproofed, obviously, and could only be opened by himself or Bruce in human form, as to prevent any possible incidents. And finally he could hide it completely with a simple cloaking spell. It was a work of art as far as Tony was concerned. He'd of preferred it red, obviously, but it was Bruce's room after all. He was so invested in admiring his work in fact that it took him a few minutes to realize Bruce hadn't responded to it's existence yet.

Swiftly he span round and found himself faced with the gaping mouth and hopeful eyes of his best friend gazing up at him with what he could only assume to be a look of thankfulness? No, awe?

"Wow Buddy, you doing okay?" Tony asked have jokingly, half not.

Pulling himself together quickly from the momentary slip in his facade Bruce allowed the smallest flitter of hope enter him along with a wave of warmth at the acceptance that he could help but feel. Tony wanted him here when he transformed. Though he hadn't said it, Bruce knew, Tony wanted to protect him.

"Yeah. Yeah I'm okay Tony."

Getting to his feet painfully, Tony knew what to do as he helped his friend across the room to seal him into his new safe place to change. But before he did, Bruce asked if Tony would leave the room for the change. He didn't want Tony seeing that. So after a firm pat on the shoulder, Tony left the room, leaving Bruce to rip out of his skin in peace.