There was Sirius and Remus of course. And Kalina was feeding little Cassie. That is when he noticed Ron, Ernie, Hermione, and Padma sitting at the table around him. And sitting at the foot of the table was Dumbledore himself.
"'Ello," Harry muttered out around his tea cup. Padma smiled at Harry while the guys all laughed. Hermione simply looked impatient.
Harry was on his second cup when her impatience got the better of her.
"Enough Harry, we want to hear about the Gathering! What were the Alphas like? Did you get to talk to any of them? How many werewolves were there? August Gallope's new treatise expertly proved there can't be more than 75 in all of Britain right now based on his observations. Did you see the same thing? Come on, Harry! Tell us!"
"Hermione, how is it you're NOT in Ravenclaw?" the sole member of that House present asked. Hermione glared back at Padma.
"Well, if Harry would just tell us what happened I wouldn't have to ask all these questions!" she huffed.
"Where's Daphne?" Harry asked. The caffeine was starting to hit him now and wake him up
Ron frowned. "Her mum took her and her little sister on a shopping holiday in Paris. She won't be home for three more days." Ron shrugged. "I don't get it. Don't we have perfectly good stores here in London?"
"It's about being with her daughters, Ronald," Hermione replied in a disapproving manner. But that just caused Padma to grin mischievously.
"But the designers in Paris are just to die for!" she gushed. Then seeing the looks on her friends' faces she lost the air-headed expression and added, "Well, that's what Parvati tells me anyway."
Hermione opened her mouth to retort but to Harry's grateful ears, Ernie got in first. "I am sure we'd rather hear Harry's news than Paris fashion."
"Amen to that," Ron and Sirius muttered in a funny synchronicity.
"Why couldn't Remus simply tell you while I was asleep?" Harry grumped. The mentioned werewolf gave a cheeky smile that reminded he was a Marauder.
"But I am not an Alpha," the former professor answered. "It just wouldn't be proper." The gleam in the older werewolf's eyes said he was enjoying himself. Harry just couldn't that go unanswered.
"Oh really?" Harry muttered just before taking another sip of tea. "Well, the most unbelievable thing of the night was I managed to get Moony here a date."
"Charisa?" Sirius guessed with a wide grin. "She was kind of cute when we were at Hogwarts."
"It was not a date!" Remus growled. "She simply wanted to apologize to me and this little wanker stepped in and made it a dinner. Not a date!"
"I don't know," Harry commented in an innocent tone. "She seemed rather sweet on you and liked the idea it was a date. And since you did just say I was the Alpha…" That brought some laughter as Remus glared at the unrepentant teen.
"As amusing as this may be, could we perhaps discuss the matter at hand?" Dumbledore said. Out of a long habit of respect, this brought the mirth to an end.
"Some of it I can't talk about," Harry started. "There was an oath and I can't go into some of the specifics. But what I can tell you is there are more than 75 werewolves and yes, I got to speak to the Alphas, some for an extended time." Hermione made to ask a question and Harry raised a hand to stop her.
"Let me finish, Hermione.
"I can't give details but the Alphas decided to accept me as a member of the Packs after I told them the story we'd agreed on. Then they started debating the question of aligning with Riddle. Fenrir was winning so I…. I jumped in."
The group looked relieved at the first bit of news but the second part left them confused and more than a bit concerned.
It was Ernie that broke the silence. "And what does that mean?" he asked. "It sounds like a Gryffindor issue." Harry scowled as Remus snorted.
"That pretty much sums up the fix Harry's put himself in," the elder werewolf said. "Harry didn't like the direction the debate was going and jumped right in arguing with Greyback. It came to blows before the other Alphas stopped it."
"Oh Harry," Hermione sighed in a disappointed tone. "Only Alphas can speak at the Gatherings. Remus explained that all to you."
"Yes, well I got caught up in the argument," Harry admitted sheepishly.
"And how did the Alphas respond to Harry's interruption, Remus?" Dumbledore asked.
Remus looked unsure. "Publicly, they were all angry. Privately, it's hard to say; I think some of them welcomed it - or even expected it. They broke up the fight and tabled the decision…" Remus was interrupted as several started making comments about how wonderful the news was. Harry looked as though he wanted to melt into the floor. Remus tried several tries to get their attention back.
Finally he just yelled out, "Harry has to fight Greyback at the next full moon." Chaos quickly ensued. Even baby Cassiopeia joined in the noise as Dumbledore, Padma, Hermione, Sirius, and Kalina joined in telling Harry exactly what they thought of his thoughtless action
"I should've stayed in bed," Harry muttered as he eyed Ron and Ernie who seemed to be enjoying this entirely too much.
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