The Master of Death

Chapter28: A Deal Struck

Harry's words echoed through the air. The werewolves were still grinning, and the occasional chuckle could be heard. Nobody was taking him seriously. "Well," Conall gestured widely with his hand, "Enlighten us then," he demanded and leaned forward with a smirk.

"My name carries weight. Both sides want me, in one way or another," Harry said. Sirius shifted nervously.

"And in what way would this be a reason for us to follow you? "

"The side that gets me is going to be the side that wins."

Some people laughed, but others had stopped grinning altogether.

"That is an awful lot of confidence that you have there, kid," Conall said. A werewolf next to him spat onto the ground.

"You can't deny it though, can you?" Harry said with a smirk.

"Well, in that case, I figure that by giving your corpse to the dark Lord, one side would certainly win much faster. I guess that this should also give us some kind of advantage, don't you think? And in addition, we wouldn't have to deal with a fourteen-year-old wannabe leader," Conall drawled. A small scar running through the scruff on his face wrinkled when he licked over his canines. The crowd shifted.

Sirius gripped his wand tightly and the other Marauder bared his teeth.

"We should go. Immediately," Lupin hissed quietly. "That was a bad idea," he mumbled, more to himself than anyone else, "This was a bad idea from the beginning... "

Harry ignored Remus' muttering and stared at Conall. Death leaned forward predatorily. "Touch me and you are dead," Harry said in a calm voice, but his grin was icy.

"Oh, come on Conall," someone said not far from the Alpha, "You still want to listen to this kid?" It was the werewolf who had cleaned his teeth with a knife not long ago.

Conall said nothing. The only thing one could hear was a quiet scratching sound, as his hand was stroking over his beard. Something in the way Harry had spoken, seemed to have made an impact.

"Raoul?" Conall lifted his head as the words left his mouth. His eyes were locked onto a tall man with dark skin. He had been silent the whole time. Grey streaked his hair and Harry noticed that a chunk of his ear was missing as he turned his head. "What do you think?" Conall asked the other werewolf.

The man was silent for a moment. Everyone was listening. His voice was hoarse when he started to speak. "We should consider what he has to say... before we act."

The reactions to his statement varied. Some of the werewolves groaned in disagreement, a few people nodded solemnly, but there was also growling and even someone shouting in the back.
Conall silenced them all with well-placed stares. When it was once more quiet - besides the occasional grumble and the birds in the trees - Conall looked at Harry.

"So, what is it that your offer then?" he asked, "What can you give to us, besides a good position in the war and the chance to be on the winning side," he almost spat in a demeaning manner, "Because how things are right now, we have a good chance to achieve that without listening to you."

"Protection," Harry simply said.

"What makes you think we need protection?" Conall asked him.

"Even a pack like yours can't stay neutral forever."

"Why not? It has worked until now," Conall said and he looked at Harry expectantly. Harry was sure that Conall knew exactly what was going on, but the werewolf wouldn't waste time by talking to some 'kid' as he had put it, that didn't even know what it was talking about.