Be My Wings {drarry}

Chapter Sixteen

Saturday 12 September 1998

Harry

You meet Alpha Cal's wolf, Sam, outside their den at sundown. He nods to you, and you return the gesture. Over the course of the past few nights, I think you've earned respect in the pack. Last night you took down a whole deer by yourself, which was pretty impressive.

Why thank you.

Shut up, you tosser, don't go and get cocky.

Insert penis joke here.

You're a child and I have no idea why you deserve any semblance of respect.

Anyway, you and the pack hunters head out. The hunters are mostly inherited wolves, as we can transform at will and it's much easier to hunt in wolf form, but there are a few bitten wolves, which is kind of surprising. They must be pretty vicious to be accepted as a hunter in human form. But I guess there are people like Fenrir Greyback who are completely savage, wolf form or no.

One of the betas seems to catch a scent, and takes of northwards, so the rest of the pack follow.

Being part of a pack, even for a few hours, is one of the best things ever. Especially for me, when my only family is the Dursleys. Needless to say, we didn't exactly have the close-knit pack dynamic. I did have Ron and Hermione, but it's not exactly the same. We were- are- as close as friends could be, but friends aren't pack-mates, and wolves are close in a way that humans with their societal rules and social roles can never be.

I know you like being in a pack too, even more than me. I'm used to just acting like a human- I'm the human part of us after all- but you're designed to function best in a pack. It would go against your nature if we were alone. It's why Rogues have such a bad reputation- their wolves go crazy after too long without a pack.

The Hogwarts pack is as welcoming as they could be. We could never be fully accepted; we don't have a status or a developed mind-link. I didn't even know what a mind-link was until I questioned how the pack could hunt so well together during the hunt without being able to communicate. Turns out they can communicate- the mind-link allows wolves in the same pack to convey basic ideas and emotions to each other. They can't properly talk, but it gets the point across. Of course, I'm still technically a Rogue, and can't have that.

After the hunt, we head back to the den, and I have to address the main reason for me coming down tonight- I want to ask about my mate. They could be in this pack, but I would never know if I only met the hunters, who are all dominant.

You almost push me to the front, eager to see if our mate is here. Alpha Cal notices I've transformed and does the same.

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah. Thanks again, for letting us hunt with you."

"It's no problem. You're a good hunter."

"Thanks. Um, I was wondering... I've been having mate dreams, and I'm pretty sure he's at Hogwarts. I was just wondering..."

"You want to check if he's in the pack?"

"Exactly. Would that be okay?"

"Normally I wouldn't allow it, but I want to trust you. But if you hurt a single one of my pack members, you won't leave this forest."

"I understand. Thank you for trusting me."

He nods and heads into the den. I take that as a signal to follow. The first thing I notice is the sheer number of people. The den is in a large clearing, shielded with boulders and ferns that cut it off from the rest of the forest. In the centre is what appears to be a fighting ring, where two dominants face-off currently. From the outside it looks vicious, but neither appear hurt and both are grinning. In one corner there's a pile of food, some of which has just been caught. There's a fire burning next to it, the only light in the den apart from the rising moon.

But everywhere, everywhere, is people. Some are in human form, some have given their wolf control, but they're everywhere. Some of the subs have made nests, where they huddle with their pups and doms. Groups of people sit talking, but they're close, some on each other's laps and others with arms wrapped around another. People come to greet the alpha as we walk in. People turn when they scent me, an apparent rogue, but relax when they see I'm with the alpha because they trust him. People play with their pups, and pups play with each other. There are people, wolves, everywhere. And each and every one of them looks happy. All I can think is that I can't wait until I have a pack.

The more I gaze in astonishment, the more I notice that there are some people who aren't wolves. There are a few dryads, some nature elves, a Veela. And each non-wolf has a wolf- their mate- wrapped around them.

"Cal!" A submissive female runs up to us and throws her arms around the alpha, who hugs her back tightly.

"I missed you, love."

"I missed you, too. You shouldn't hunt for so long." He gives a noncommittal chuckle and pulls away from her.

"This is my mate, the pack's luna, Wendy. Love, this is Harry. He's looking for his mate. He goes to school in the castle."

"Welcome to our den! Feel free to look around for your mate. I hope you find them." I smile at her. She seems friendly, like a good luna.

"So do I."

It feels awkward, having to go up to people just to look them in the eyes and walk away, but the other wolves don't seem to feel it. Apparently, to them, it's obvious what I'm doing. So I spend almost two hours meeting the submissive, unmated males, trying to find mine. But the thing is, I know, somewhere, deep down, that I'm not going to find my mate here. Maybe its the scent, or lack of, I suppose; or maybe because I already feel disappointed. And I know that around my mate, I could never feel anything negative.

So really, I know he's not here. But I still look. In fact, I draw it out as long as possible, because I don't want to face the knowledge that finding my mate, the one thing I want to do more than anything else, will take even longer, be even harder. But eventually, I do face this fact, thank the alpha and luna and head back to the castle. Because really, it doesn't matter how long or hard it is. As long as I do find my mate, whatever hardships I go through to get there will all be worth it.

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