Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all its trademarks are the property of J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. This fanfiction was written purely for entertainment purposes; no money is being made through this. The species of Lepren and certain plot elements were borrowed from Wolfishgrin's (now Lady Idyllic) story, Wolf Child, and are used here with his/her permission.
(A/N) Dusts off the story It's probably been so long that most of my readers have forgotten about it, huh? Sorry 'bout that. Lady Idyllic (Wolfishgrin) mailed me to say that she was starting her story, Wolf Child again from the start, and that rekindled my interest in my own story. Plus, NaNoWriMo ate my soul the past month. o0
I'm currently working on two different fanfics as well as an original novel, though, so updates will probably continue to be somewhat slow. For the record, if more than a month or so goes by without an update, by all means, PLEASE send me an email, poke me or ask what's going on, cause chances are I got distracted by other stuff, and people asking about the story always helps to get my attention back on it.
Child of the Wilderness
Chapter Five: Settling In
"Feeling better?" Dumbledore asked as he entered the infirmary the next day.
"My head hurts," Noir grumbled, causing the Headmaster's mouth to grin in amusement.
"Ah. Well, wandering about the school in your condition could do that," he pointed out good-naturedly.
Noir had the grace to blush, and started stammering an excuse, but Dumbledore shook his head. "Your little illegal excursion is not the reason I came here. Have you decided yet?"
Noir didn't have to ask what he was talking about. He tilted his head to one side hesitantly. "Do you think…could I learn more about my parents if I stayed here?"
Dumbledore appeared surprised at his unexpected question, and answered thoughtfully, "Yes, I suppose you could. Several professors taught them." His eyes narrowed as he wondered just what the Dursleys had told the boy.
Noir, meanwhile, seemed to have made up his mind. "Then I'll stay," he decided.
Dumbledore beamed, clearly pleased. "Wonderful! But I think you'll have to have a tutor, to get caught up to the other students your age."
Noir scowled. "Why do I need to learn wizard magic anyway?" he questioned. "I bet I could beat any one of them with my lepran powers."
"They may be powerful and versatile, yes, but your lepran abilities require lots of energy to use, do they not? Your wizard magic may not be as strong, but when you have been taught, it will be much quicker and easier to use," Dumbledore explained.
Noir sighed, "I see your point. So is Ginny going to be my tutor?"
Dumbledore quirked a smile, "No, I'm afraid not. I am trying to find a more qualified and permanent teacher to help you, but I think in the meantime, Hermione Granger will suffice. She's one of the best students in sixth year-or seventh year, for that matter."
Noir grimaced, but quickly hid his disappointment. His early memories of school were not among his pleasant ones; but it was because of the memories he didn't have at all that he was here.
Noir was finally given a clean bill of health by Madam Pomfrey two days later. He felt like he could howl in joy, but didn't think that would go over too well with the humans. So he walked quickly and purposefully through the halls, trying to find the library where he was told to meet Hermione Granger. Ginny's tour days ago had been fun, but it seemed she'd skipped over some of the important parts. Like the library.
As he was wandering the hallways, the very girl occupying his thoughts walked by. "Hey, Noir. What are you doing here?" she smiled.
Noir grimaced. "Trying to find the library," he explained.
Ginny laughed. "Well, no wonder you can't find it, you're on the wrong floor!"
She grabbed his hand and led him up to the fourth floor, to the library. "Here you are. I have to go to class now, I guess I'll see you later," and she ran off, leaving Noir staring after her, disappointed at seeing her leave and wondering why.
Hermione Granger was a quiet girl with bushy brown hair framing her face. She was currently bent over a table in the back of the library, lost in a book.
"Are you Hermione Granger?" Noir asked, although he supposed she must have been-she was the only other person in the library.
She looked up, smiling. "Yes, that's me. You must be the new student," she said.
He nodded. "My name's Noir."
Hermione's eyebrows rose. Obviously, it was not a normal human name, but he didn't care; he wasn't going to change his name. "That's French, isn't it?" the girl asked.
Noir shrugged noncommittally. "I suppose so."
"Have you ever been there?" Hermione asked.
Noir paused thoughtfully, "Once…" It was where he'd been discovered by a certain English-French lepran.
Sensing at last that he didn't particularly want to talk about his past, Hermione brought out a sizeable stack of books and placed them on the table between them. The huge books made a solid 'thunk' as they hit the table. She ignored Noir's widened eyes as she stated, "Well then, let's get to work."
"Wingardium Leviosa is a simple spell, used to levitate objects in the air. There's a certain swish and flick movement-" Nearly an hour later, Hermione was demonstrating the practical side of Charms to Noir. "Now you try," she said, smiling encouragingly.
Noir took his wand (it had been given to him, along with a host of other secondhand school supplies, by the Headmaster earlier that morning) and lazily tried to follow Hermione's movements. The feather he was attempting to levitate gave a pitiful little wobble, but didn't leave the table. It was obvious Noir was not putting full effort into the lesson.
Instead, he was fidgeting in his seat and looking wistfully out the nearest window, where he could just see the tops of the trees of the Forbidden Forest.
With a perturbed frown, Hermione glanced at the clock, and decided they had been practicing long enough. She snapped her book shut with a thump, which made Noir jump, as he'd been staring in the opposite direction. "Why don't we take a break for a little while?" she asked with a smile. "I can show you the Quidditch pitch."
Noir returned her smile with relief, agreeing eagerly. "I'm not used to spending so much time indoors," Noir confessed. It felt confining, after the many years living in the expansive forest.
They made their way outside of the school. Movement from above caught Noir's eye as they approached the Quidditch pitch, and he looked up to see several students flying through the air on broomsticks.
"That's the Gryffindor team, they must be practicing for the Quidditch tournament," Hermione explained.
Noir's head swiveled to stare at her. "Quidditch?" He searched his mind, and realized that was the name of the game that his father had played. He smiled as he and Hermione took a seat in the bleachers to watch.
Hermione began to explain the basic rules of the game. "There's four balls and seven players on each team. Three chasers try to score, the keeper tries to keep them from scoring, two beaters, and a seeker. I'm not really all the knowledgeable about it, if you want to know more, you should ask Ron or Ginny," she said.
"What? How could anyone not know about Quidditch?" someone demanded from behind them. They both looked up, to see that the quidditch players had returned to the ground, and one of the players now approached them, a tall, lanky boy, whose vivid red hair made Noir suspect that he was related to Ginny Weasley.
"Noir, this is Ron Weasley, a fellow Gryffindor, and the quidditch team's keeper," Hermione said shortly as the young man grinned proudly. "Ron, this is the new student, Noir. Dumbledore's having me tutor him until he finds a full-time professor to tutor him," Hermione directed to the red-headed boy.
Though he tried not to let it show, Noir could see that Ron found his name slightly odd. The keeper held out a sweaty hand. "Nice to meet you," he said, beaming.
Noir stared at the outstretched hand. He knew there was something to that action, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what.
When Noir made no move whatsoever, Ron pulled his hand back with a slight cough, and ran it through his hair instead. From the corner of his eye, Noir could see Hermione frowning at him. He shifted nervously. "Hello," he mumbled.
The two Gryffindors exchanged a look. "He must be shy," Hermione whispered in a low voice that Noir probably wouldn't have picked up if it wasn't for his keen ears. He didn't say anything; it was probably better to let them think that than let them know how woefully inexperienced he was with humans.
One of the other scarlet-robed Quidditch players drew their attention with a cry and a finger pointed in the direction of the Forbidden Forest. "Look! Something's coming out of the Forbidden Forest!"
The other kids all rushed over to see what he was talking about. "What are those?" "I hope they're not dangerous." As whatever they were looking at drew closer, many of them nervously stepped back and started climbing up the bleachers.
Curious, Noir and the others went to see what the commotion was about, and Noir let out a groan. Running across the Hogwarts grounds at a startling rate toward the Quidditch pitch where Noir watched were four lean shapes-the lepren.
Hiija was in the lead, naturally, snarling at the closest player, who staggered back, eyes wide in fear. Rolling his eyes, Noir jumped from the last few bleachers unto the ground and quickly transformed into lepran form. He raised his head and let out the loudest roar he could. Hiija and the others stopped in their tracks, some actually sliding forward in the dirt before halting, and they all stared at him.
Noir, you're okay after all! Kyrie said joyfully.
We were coming to rescue you, Reeyu explained, sending a weighted look at Hiija, who was working very hard to appear indifferent.
Noir rolled his eyes. As if he couldn't have figured that outfor himself. I've been doing fine on my own, you know.
The others whimpered sheepishly, avoiding his gaze. Shaking his head ruefully, Noir turned to see that all the Hogwarts students on the Quidditch pitch were gaping at them. Shifting back into human form, he gestured to the gathered lepren and smiled somewhat sheepishly himself, "Okay, sorry about that. Umm…meet my family."
Next chapter: Running around a school of magic? The other lepren aren't going to let Noir have all the fun! Noir sheds a little more light on his and the pack's pasts, and the professors have some grave news…