Pack- Chapter 1

Here is my new fic, titled "Pack." I really hope you enjoy it! This is sort of a prologue-ish thing. Thanks to my beta, Ninja C, who actually gave me the idea for my title (Thank goodness or it wouldn't have been posted for another month or so!). Ha! And you say you feel like it's intruding...

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything you recognize. I do own Maria, though, and I adore her. Anyone read Twilight? I know exactly how ironic it is that she was named Maria... but they are nothing alike!! At all!! The name just clicked. I hope you all fall in love with her, too! Oh, and I do not own any references to The Lion King.

I first saw him when I went to the park to play. I don't remember who I was with or why. All I remember was seeing a man in tattered clothes standing by the trees. I stared at him for a second, but was knocked down by a bigger boy, only to realize that he had disappeared.

He was there again, twenty minutes later, holding an ice cream cone. He lured me over and I was grabbed by the arm. I screamed, but nobody came. To tell you the truth, for a three year old, I was kind of stupid. Even three year olds know not to talk to strangers and go for the candy trick. Of course, it wasn't a trick; he really did have ice cream. It tasted good. I haven't had ice cream since then.

I can't remember what happened between him grabbing me and us arriving at the cave, but I'm sure I was absolutely terrified. I stared down at the shaking children now and smirked. Yes, I was definitely terrified.

The next day had been the most painful day in my existence. I had been shoved into a cramped cave, a smaller one within, and bitten over and over again. I could remember the sharp teeth that had brushed up on my arm, the piercing screams. I finally slept, enduring the pain in the best way I could.

When I woke, I was a wolf. I had always been a wolf; my best memories were as such. I learned how to hunt, how to steal, and even how to read and write a little from the wolves. Well, maybe I should make myself a little more clear – I wasn't a wolf, but a werewolf. The biggest difference was my status. I was lower, much lower than any of the children that had been stolen. There was only one other that had the same treatment, and that was my best friend, Maria.

Though I hate to admit it, she was a bit of a disgrace to the pack. She gets this weird guilt at random times for doing the simplest things. She's also not very good at stealing. They figured that I would be the same when they found we were practically attached at the hip by the third day, but the reality was quite the opposite. Most felt bad that I was left alone, seeing as my skills were excellent.

And that's being modest.

"So, you see, status and age in this pack is extremely important," Maria lectured beside me, as I daydreamed about my past, my beginning. She nudged me – it was my turn.

"Here's how it basically goes. Now, as a young child, you will all be adopted into a family within the pack. They will care for you. By the time you are ten, you will help find food and supplies for your family. And at fourteen, you will officially join the pack, as a mature adult. A mate will be assigned to you, then. Don't worry, they usually pair it very well."

"Oh, and at sixteen, it is possible for you to be offered a child. You may decline, though."

The children stared at us blankly. I sighed. They were still human, I suppose. Hadn't even had the first transformation. I rubbed my sore back – it had been last night. They all scratched at their bandages, eager to take them off.

"Any questions?"

"Am I ever going to see my Mommy and Daddy again?" one little girl asked.

"Honey," Maria bent down to her level, "Mommy and Daddy don't matter. Soon you'll have a new Mommy and Daddy."

"Don't use baby words with them!" I scolded her. "Look, kid – you'll learn quick that humans do not make a difference to us. Your parents are human. We don't care about them. In fact, we eat humans." All the children gasped and I rolled my eyes. "You don't have to, of course; it's an acquired taste. I'm not such a huge fan of it myself."

"What did any of that have to do with status?" one of the older children, probably around seven, asked me.

"When you are an adult you are part of the pack. When you are a child, you are not. As you get older, you're more respected. And also, not being accepted into a family means one thing."

"What?"

"You're an orphan and a servant. When you are an orphan, you steal and hunt the same as everyone else, but you must get your own food from the start. You take orders from anyone and everyone older than you. There's no saying no. You sleep in the most cramped corner of our hideout, wherever it winds up being. You carry the biggest load when we move. And so on. It's a hard life, but I don't think you have to worry about it. All the partners seem willing to take you on."

"Are you two orphans?"

"Why else are we giving this speech and not with the rest, eating?" Maria smiled grimly. "Go! Shoo! Get your food and report back here. A man, Greyback, I told you who he was, will be here to assign you to your families." They scurried off towards the crowd while we edged away from it.

"Wanna go out and eat?" I asked her and she shrugged. She was no pushover, but she didn't really care much when it came to little decisions. We both grabbed a hunk of meat and a small roll of bread and picked our way to the entrance. Exhilarated with the fresh air, we ran all the way to the field of fresh grass, screaming to each other the whole way.

Odd, I thought when we got to a patch of flowers. I don't hear her anymore.

She pounced from between the trees and I was on my back.

"Ha, pinned ya!" she laughed before letting me up. I growled softly before lunging. Suddenly, my head bumped the ground once again.

"Ha, pinned ya again!" She rolled over and laid beside me on the grass, just staring up at the clouds. I tore at my food, trying unsuccessfully to fill my empty stomach.

"Can't wait until I'm fourteen," I muttered darkly to myself.

"We just turned eleven!"

"So? When I'm fourteen, we'll really be part of the pack. We'll get more food, we'll get more privileges - "

"I, for one, am glad to be an orphan. Did you see how the other children are treated? When they misbehave, they're beaten by their 'parents.' I'd rather not, thanks."

"And when we misbehave, we're beaten by Greyback – oops, sorry, 'Father,' – and it's even worse." She sighed, giving up.

"True, true. Hey, let's got back before we get in trouble." We sat up grudgingly, making our way back to the rocks as the sun set. We climbed slowly up the mountain, until our hiding spot was once more found. Two men were standing at the entrance.

"There you are!" one of them yelled.

"You're both with us on guard duty tonight!" the other one added. "Get over here!" We ran to the two men.

"We'll take shifts. You two and then us, got it? Wake us up at sunrise." Then they turned and dropped down on the dirt. We stood and took our guard positions, on opposite sides of the entrance.

It was an uneventful night, except for Greyback, who left only minutes after we took position.

Never before us had children be told to do guard duty. We were simply not strong or bold enough. But, as the servants we are, we did everything. And never before was there two such lowly servants in the pack.

Until Greyback returned.

It was sunrise and we had gone to wake the men.

"Wake up!" I muttered sleepily as I shoved them around. "Get up, it's time for your guard!" Maria clutched my arm anticipating what was coming next. The man's fist shot out and hit me in the stomach. I doubled over.

"Get back to work," he hissed and I crawled to my station. We could always sleep in the fields during the day.

Greyback arrived half an hour later, a stumbling figure beside him. Greyback had a wand clutched in his hands and at the man's back. He looked terrified. Already in rags, he was tied up with heavy duty rope and gagged with a dirty looking piece of cloth. His face was bruised and cut and he struggled to climb with no support from his hands. Greyback shoved him, trying to help him along, but only maiming him further.

They eventually made their way to the top.

"Hello, sir," I greeted and the man's eyes seemed to pop out of his head. "I thought you didn't like to change adults. Is this a snack or something?" Greyback laughed. As I said before, I was extremely skilled, despite my lowly status. Greyback took interest in me.

"No, no, not at all, although that last one is a good idea…" he crooned and the man stiffened. "This is an old victim of mine; he got away a long, long time ago. And then he came to spy on me, before you joined us. He helped hinder the Dark Lord's success."

I nodded in understanding. Anyone who stopped the Dark Lord was an enemy to us. If the Dark Lord had won, we would have all the food and supplies we needed. We wouldn't have to hide out in forests and caves anymore.

"Anyhow, we have found him once again and are just bringing him back home, where he belongs. Oh, I know you're dying to say something, here." He ripped the cloth of the man's mouth.

"I will never consider this home, I don't belong with you!" he growled, though unimpressively. It was so obvious he hadn't grown up with the pack. I giggled, unable to resist.

"Yes, yes, alright, Lupin, you believe that. I'll tell you of your status and jobs later, in the morning. Meanwhile, Harry?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Look after him for me." The man, Lupin, as he called him, was shoved to the ground and fell face first. Greyback retreated into the cave and I rolled him over onto his back with my foot. I stared at him, curious. He was fuming to himself, muttering and cursing words I hadn't ever heard before.

"He took my wand! I can't believe he took my wand. I got a wand and went to school to prove he wouldn't be able to get me, to prove I wasn't like him, and what happens? He takes it and uses it against me! And I got caught and kidnapped. Kidnapped! I'm not even a kid! I spent my whole life, evading this life, just to be brought back and killed. Hopefully, they do it before the next full moon…"

"They're not going to kill you," I informed him and he looked at me as if he had forgotten I was there. He probably had. "They'll make you a servant and make you work, but they won't kill you. Remember? He said you'd get your status tomorrow."

"My status," he spat, "is wizard! And if you want to go more into depth with that, half blood! Perhaps I'll even add werewolf and unemployed to the list. But not savage and most definitely not servant. I know my status, I don't need to be told." I rolled my eyes and let him continue for a few moments.

"Are you gonna shut up, or do I have to do it for you?" I raised my fist threateningly, interrupting yet another monologue. This guy was clearly insane. He smirked.

"Go ahead, try." I glanced warily at Maria, who had fallen asleep ages ago. If she woke up because I got hurt, she'd kill me. But I wasn't going to deny a challenge!

My fist connected with his mouth and he yelped.

"Ow," he gasped. "Okay, I believe you." He cringed as he talked. "I'll stop." His jaw went slack and I watched the bruise form, quite proud of my work.

I fell asleep only moments later on the hard dirt. I didn't wake until noon, and by then, the man was gone. I didn't wonder, I didn't care. He was nothing to me.

Lupin joined my servant status. Strained as our conversations were, we became friends. Maria clung to the man, always the one to strive to be normal. She had longed for a human life for years. Whenever we were close enough to a town, she would hide by a school and eavesdrop on their lessons, eager to learn. A few times I had tagged on, but it was dead boring to me.

A year passed. Topics and opinions were easier to handle and our discussions less tense. I became comfortable in his presence and even started to care for him. He was like our guardian, always watching out for us. We never knew why, but we accepted it. He was a nice addition to our little group. Of course, he was more kind and gentle than me, leaning more towards Maria's personality. He strived to be in society even more, but was constantly under watch and constantly threatened. Lupin never came with us on raids. He was only allowed to leave the spot during full moon or when going to get water.

We were finally twelve and edging towards the mating year, the maturity year. Sets of children were taken aside to interrogate, to try and find the greatest match. The way they spoke to Maria and I, it seemed almost decided. She crushed heavily on a boy in the more status high group. His father was close to Greyback. Unlike many of us, he had been born into the pack. I, however, had my eye on nobody in particular. The boy had a twin sister who Maria insisted had her eyes on me, but I didn't care.

Remus, as we had finally adjusted to calling him, didn't encourage us in the path of stealing and mating. The stealing was a no-brainer, we all knew he didn't approve of it. However, the mating was a surprise.

"Wouldn't you rather find love on your own?" he asked us once while packing up our things to move on. We had shrugged and told him it didn't make a difference.

Remus was now a steady addition to our group. We cared for him just as we cared for each other and vice versa. I tried desperately to change his views on humanity while he struggled to do the same with me. Maria was in the middle, agreeing with some points and disagreeing with others. Sometimes it got intense, but never escalated to a fight. I knew that if it had been me and another wolf, it could have, but Remus was too calm.

Our life changed that summer, in ways we never could have imagined.

Ok, so, I hope you all liked that! More to come... when I'm ungrounded. I got a reprieve for tonight and just tonight, so if I don't reply to your reviews right away, I'm sorry!

There I go, assuming I'll get reviews! But I will, right? Right, Ninja C?? Right, Maria? Right, Remus? Right, Harry?? Wait, what do you mean no?? Well, I understand what no means, but why won't I get reviews? Oh, come on, please don't kill the reviewers Harry! Harry! Please don't bite them! Oh, gosh, sorry guys, I gotta go restrain him. He's a bit possessive of me, he doesn't like others to talk to me.

Just to explain something really quick about aging process in the packs. When they are kidnapped, they are asked how old they are. If they are three, twelve full moons later, they are four, no matter when they really turn four. In some cases, it works out fine. In others, the child is a year younger than they should be. Hint hint, Harry was almost four when he was bit. It was May or June. Of course, he doesn't know this.