The Forest - R.L.

Chapter 4 - The Foxes

Remus looked like he was about to be sick.
"I-I don't- I'm not-"
She grabbed his arm "Hey, it's okay, calm down."

He took a deep breath, composing himself, before looking straight into her eyes and saying "I'm not a werewolf."
Grace laughed "Well that's a lie! I know you are! My dad is an expert in magical creatures, so I think I'm pretty good at identifying them. I mean, how else could you possibly get all those scars?"
"I, uh, I fell." Grace raised an eyebrow at him. "You fell?"
"Yeah. Into a bush. Covered in thorns," he replied, looking as if he was going to pass out.

"We both know that's not true. And besides, I've met you before, haven't I? The wolf you, of course. In this exact same clearing, four years ago. Can you remember things when you're a wolf?"
"I.... sometimes.... I have dreams about things that happen during full moons," He looked up at her again "Please don't tell anyone! About me! I didn't mean any harm, I just-"

"I won't tell anyone, I promise," Grace noticed the concerned that still covered his features, and put both of her hands on his shoulders, bringing him directly in front of her. "Look, Remus, I don't care that you're a werewolf! And I don't care about what happened that night, it looked worse than it was. The cut healed easily with a few spells."
"What do you mean you don't care? I'm a monster! I could hurt you!" Grace sighed "You're not going to hurt me. And you're not a monster at all. You're a werewolf, a person who turns into a wolf every full moon. I find it all rather interesting actually."

Remus looked confused "How am I not a monster? I could kill someone."
"And so could I, if I had the right weapon. That doesn't mean I'm going to though. And just because you're a werewolf doesn't mean that you're going to kill anyone either."
Grace removed her hands from his shoulders "Apart from once a month, werewolves are normal human beings. It's just that certain people are dumb and don't understand that." Remus smiled at that.

Finished with her rant, Grace sat down on the rocks again "So, what book were you reading before I interrupted you?"

The two ended up sitting there for the next few hours and talking. Remus was extremely confused by Grace's accent, he had never met anyone from Australia before, and was very interested about it. Grace was delighted to hear that Remus was also starting his first year at Hogwarts in September, and that the headmaster had found a way to facilitate for his lycanthropy.

"A secret tunnel under a Whomping Willow? Wow, Dumbledore is smart. And I'm so glad that you'll be coming to Hogwarts. I was scared that I wasn't going to make any friends."

Remus stared at her. He'd never had any friends before, his parents not allowing him to see anybody in fear that they might found out about his condition. But now he had one, and she was sitting right beside him.

As the sun began to set, the two went their separate ways along the path, promising to see each other again once school started.

---

Grace got up early the next morning, excited about what her parents had planned for the day: a trip to Diagon Alley.

Whilst she had been in the forest the previous day, a letter had arrived from Hogwarts with the list of things that she would need for school. She already owned a few of the items on the list, such as a cauldron, an owl and wand, as she had needed them at her previous school. Her wand was 11 inches long, and was made from white gum wood, with a dragon heartstring core. It was quite thin for a wand, and engravings covered its surface, making it look as if there were small vines growing on it, twisting in every direction.

The first place they went to was a bright purple building known as Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. They entered the store to find that is was nearly empty, which surprised Grace at first, considering that it was so close to the start of a new school year, but then she remember how early in the morning it was.

They were greeted at the door by a young woman wearing a purple set of robes; the store's uniform. She took Grace's measurements and a few minutes later, she handed her a large paper bag filled with all of the items of clothing that she could ever possibly need.

After paying the woman, the three of them headed to Flourish and Blotts to buy all her textbooks, following Alexander who claimed that he remember the way, although Grace highly doubted that. It had been nearly fifteen years since he had last been here.

On the way, they passed a bright green building, with red letters reading 'Magical Menagerie' on the front. Alexander gasped.

"Oh I remember this place! It's got all kinds of magical creatures for sale. You're going to love it, Grace!" He grabbed their hands and pulled them into the store like a small excited child.

This time it was Grace's turn to gasp. All four walls of the store were covered in shelves containing at least fifty different kinds of magical and non-magical creatures. There were at least ten different breeds of cat, a selection of brightly coloured frogs and scaly toads, a small swarm of lacewing flies, grey and brown rats, a pile of fluffy Puffskiens, a few Kneazles, a Crup or two, and a bunch of other creatures that Grace had never seen before, all kept in their individual cages and containers.

The only wall that wasn't lined with creatures was the one directly opposite the door. Instead, the shelves were covered in an assortment of bottles and jars containing anything that you might need to care for these creatures. In front of the shelves stood a small counter, with and old woman behind it. She smiled at the three as they entered, before returning to the paperwork that she had been doing.

The store was completely empty, apart from a young girl and her mother who were standing in front of a large cage. Grace couldn't see what was inside, but it was apparently very exciting.

"Oh wow, look at them mum!"
"I am looking at them dear."
"Can I get one? Please mum! They're my favourite animal, and the school list says that we can bring a pet-"
"That you can bring an owl, toad or cat, Abbey. Not a fox!"

Grace took a step towards, wanting to see what all the fuss was about. Inside the cage was a bright orange fox, laying on her side, as her three children played in front of her, nipping at each other.

"I can just say that it's a cat. An extremely fox-like cat. That's bright orange."

"I believe they're actually Firefoxes," a voice from behind her said. Grace turned to see her father leaning over her, trying to get a better look at them. The woman and her daughter, Abbey, took a step to the side so that he could get a better view.

"Firefoxes?" Abbey asked, turning towards him. She looked to around Grace's age, with clear blue eyes and bright orange hair, not unlike the fur of the foxes.

"Yes, Firefoxes. You see, when they get angry they..." he trailed off, watching as one of the three fox cubs burst into flames whilst fighting with its siblings "Well, they do that."

"Wow," both Grace and Abbey said in unison, before looking at each other and laughing.

"So can I get one?" Abbey asked, turning towards her mother, who was frozen in shock.
"Don't worry, they're pretty harmless. They only catch fire when they're angry, which rarely happens. Firefoxes are actually quite peaceful creatures," Alexander told her.

"I don't think..." Abbey's mother trailed off, before looking at how desperate her daughter was, and sighing. "Okay. Let's get one!"