Lockwood Part 6

Aleksander had fallen apart more than I thought, he let a lot of things slip by the wayside, things like new buildings that had been commissioned but not built, new trainers that needed to be integrated into the team and a minister who was cutting funding piece by piece without actually saying anything.

Elena had shouted and yelled at Aleksander, she was angry and frustrated for months and it poured out in one solid evening. She eventually decided it wasn’t useful to be angry and soon got to work as far as the Park was concerned. I decided to help Aleksander with the minister and accompanied him to a meeting that had been arranged to discuss the Park’s progress, I made sure that he was well prepared and I would not let him fail.

The building was as cold as I remembered it, marble and open spaces. I could feel something heavy about it though, as if something darker was descending, it was the same feeling I was getting from just about every building I went into back home. War was coming.

The minister was unusually excited to see me and I was immediately suspicious. The meeting went well and almost everything Aleksander wanted to discuss, the minister offered no resistance and even agreed to send additional funding to help with the repairs. I could feel that something was out of place and the way that Aleksander was reacting told me he was not expecting the meeting to be that easy. I could feel something had changed in the air around the minister, as if his words weren’t quite his own… or perhaps they were?

‘He’s usually a lot more resistant than that,’ Aleksander said quietly. ‘I guess you must be my good luck charm.’ He smiled, satisfied that he got what he came for.

I just nodded and stayed quiet as we left the building and begun the flight back to the Sanctuary. I was glad to see nothing had happened in our absence, it was something I was worried about with how easy it had been to get what Aleksander was looking for.

Angelina,

Trust your instinct. Something doesn’t feel right, it shouldn’t have been that easy and if the only factor was your presence, then Aleksander will need to be aware of that and be prepared for the moment you leave. He needs to push forward and ensure the Sanctuary stands in a place of strength. You were right to bring Elena into the fold, but be aware that there is only so much that can be done and laws can be changed at any time. Politics is a very delicate affair and ministries tend to house the most spiteful of people.

Please stay safe and stay strong. I need you home in one piece, do what you can, but remember that the Sanctuary has done well with Aleksander and Kasha’s leadership so far, this is just a small slip and one that can be dealt with.

The packs Benji has been tracking look to be rallying behind Voldemort, he’s convinced them that they would have a better life under his reign. I don’t know what more myself Alice and Alfred can do, but Erin’s future is now looking uncertain. I fear that we are descending into another position where we are simply waiting for you to come back home.

Yours

Remus

It was a hard letter to read, I didn’t want Remus to simply wait for me to come home, I didn’t want Erin to question her future, I wanted them to feel safe without me there so that I could focus on what I needed to do.

I knew that Erin enjoyed Quidditch and decided to write a letter Darren to hopeful offer some words of encouragement, from what I understood, he was someone she took some inspiration from. I wouldn’t let Umbridge ruin her future, not after everything Erin had achieved on her own despite the fact she was a werewolf.

We waited for a full week for something to happen with the minister, but instead all that happened was the funding came through and the Park was repaired in good time. Aleksander was well rested and the Park staff were made aware of Gregori Valentine and his group of thugs. They were understandably upset that Aleksander had chosen to keep the information to himself, but soon accepted it and continued to work towards rebuilding the Sanctuary from the damage the storm had done. I chose to stay quiet and allowed Aleksander to do the decision making.

Eventually, he took me to see Kasha on the other side of the Park, we stopped off at a few of the spots I hadn’t recognised on the map and I found that they were humane enclosures for some of the werewolves to transform in safely. They reminded me of Remus’s shed and I realised how lucky I was to have married someone who understood himself so clearly.

Kasha was doing well, some of the werewolves who had come to stay in the park were well-educated and were able to teach the younger ones a thing or two. They made a wonderfully tight-knit community and I caught a faint glimpse of hope. I felt a smile on my face for the first time in weeks, this was what I was working to build, a future where understanding and acceptance were corner stones for a whole new way of life. I wondered if I was taking on a lot more than I had really anticipated.

Kasha took me on a tour of the new Rangers site and gave me a run down of the duties they carried out, they way the previous Ranger should have done. All in all, everything looked incredibly positive, Kasha was looking fresher, in less pain and she smiled. It was all I asked for.

The three of us made our way back to the Sanctuary, Kasha having some business to discuss with Elena, but it was the smoke drifting up from the paddocks that had Aleksander stopping in his tracks. I’d never seen the look of fear on him before and I’d never seen it on anyone so extremely until that moment.

‘Valentine.’ He breathed. I turned back towards the smoke and felt my body trying to change into my animagus, but I stopped it, I couldn’t risk losing control over my body.

We sprinted hard towards the Sanctuary and found a group of around thirty men shooting off balls of fire, panicking the thestrals and other defenceless creatures, the trainers were doing everything they could, but this was a much more vicious attack than I had anticipated. Elena was co-ordinating as best she could, fighting off wizards that were beginning to surround her and a couple of younger looking trainers.

‘Elena!’ Aleksander shouted and ran into the middle of the surrounding wizards. Kasha had disappeared somewhere in the other direction, but all I could see in front of me was the place I’d once defended, on fire.

Suddenly I felt myself lose all control. It was like a blurred memory, one that could only be partially remembered, like a dream you think is real for a moment the second you open your eyes. My animagus had taken over and the vicious wolf inside me had torn through the oncoming waves of dark wizards, I caught glimpses of blood spatter, flashes of green and red and suddenly it all stopped.

I was breathing heavily, staring down at a man with long, greasy, black hair, who was laughing and pointing at me.

‘So, it’s true,’ he said. ‘This is the great wolf I have heard so much about. What an honour!’ He bowed dramatically, still laughing. I felt myself growl and take a cautious step towards him. I could taste copper. ‘They say you feed on the blood of yetis and manticores, only the most deadly of creature can satisfy…’ the man then stood up straight and threw his arms out. ‘How do I measure up?’

I took a breath and forced myself to change back into my human form, holding my wand out straight and the suddenly very disappointed man.

‘You don’t.’ I whispered. A flash of red emerged from my wand and the man was thrown backwards.

‘Gregori.’ One of the other shouted and bent down to see if he was injured. I fell onto my knee, feeling my energy depleting quickly.

‘Angie.’ Elena was at my side, she looked both afraid and worried. ‘Are you okay?’

‘What happened?’ I asked. She could see something was wrong. ‘I don’t remember.’ The tears were coming, but the exhaustion was setting in and Valentine was starting to get to his feet.

‘You saved us.’ Elena breathed. ‘Let us help you now.’

It was only then that I realised how unscathed she looked, had I really done all of this single-handedly.

‘You are no wolf.’ Valentine hissed. ‘You are a fraud!’

‘She’s more wolf than you could know.’ Kasha stepped forward, she didn’t have a wand, but she looked ready for a fight all the same.

‘Shut up you wretched mudblood!’

‘Don’t talk to her like that!’ Aleksander roared, again stepping in front of me to protect me it seemed.

‘I was told a great wolf lived here, one who was worth more than any bounty in the world.’ Valentine had staggered to his feet, refusing any help from his gang of thugs. I could feel him about to fire something dangerous towards us.

‘Aleksander, move.’ I yelled just as a green flash shot between Aleksander and Kasha. I felt my body once again move of it’s own accord, it wanted to change again. I wanted to become the wolf who could protect them again. I stood up and raised my pale wand. ‘Gregori Valentine, I will give you one chance to walk away, one chance to leave here and never return. But rest assured, you will only get this chance.’

The gang began laughing loudly and dramatically, about to make this last longer than necessary, but I really didn’t have the time. I shot off multiple stunners in every direction and took down a couple of Valentines key members. He was left marooned and alone.

‘The Dark Lord is looking for your kind,’ Valentine suddenly said, thought something told me he wasn’t exactly surrendering. ‘He is looking for the Lockwoods. What do you think he would do if I tell him one is hiding here? Using these half-breeds to protect her pathetic life.’

‘You won’t get that chance.’ I growled and sent off another stunner straight at his chest. Valentine flew back into one of the only fences still standing in the Sanctuary and his thugs surrendered immediately.

Everything was once again a bit of a blur, Aleksander, Elena and Kasha managed to get the Aurors there in good time and as I suspected the minister was not himself when we had met with him. Valentine had him doing all of his bidding by force, that was why the air around him felt changed.

I felt the exhaustion set in almost immediately. Valentine was arrested along with the thugs he’d brought with him, Elena was getting the sanctuary organised and Kasha and Aleksander were talking quietly with the minister. I sat on the edge of the step leading to my old cabin and began to cry.

I was losing control, I was allowing this thing inside me to take over and do things without my consent, I couldn’t let anyone get hurt because of it, I couldn’t let myself slip away from the life I was building, from Remus. I needed him so much right now, I needed to go home, to hold him, to kiss him and never leave him alone again.

I felt a warm hand sliding over my shoulder, but I didn’t have the energy to work out who it was, my jaw hurt from where I’d snapped down, my shoulders and hips hurt from carrying my heavy body around, my back hurt because it always hurt.

‘Angie.’ Kasha. Her voice was placing something warm in my chest that I sorely needed right now. I managed to look up and immediately, almost like a mother, she sat beside me and wiped away my tears. ‘If you call, I will answer.’ Her stuttered English was still rather good.

‘We will answer.’ Aleksander corrected her and I turned to see that most of the park’s eyes were on me. How could these people, after witnessing what I was capable of, still want to follow me? How could they think it was a good idea? I let my gaze drop to the floor and shed any tears I had left.

‘Why would you do that?’ I croaked.

‘Because you are my friend,’ Aleksander echoed my own words back to him. ‘You are a part of this pack. There should be no question.’

My mind blurred once again and all I could do was cry. My body hurt, my mind was draining and my sense of being was slipping away from me. I just wanted to go home.