Loving the Lonely

Chapter 9

Quick Note: In this chapter, Hermione kind of succumbs to some unhealthy habits, in that, she goes a while without food and deals with the aftermath of that. There is also some mildly graphic dream that she has about what might have happened if the grey men had gone further. All of that takes place between the two bolded sentences. If you think you might be upset or triggered when reading that, then please skip down until you see the second bolded line whenever you get to the first. Thank you so much! 

 Despite how her lack of sleep is causing Hermione to miss a few things that she never would have in the past, she is still far from oblivious. She knows what this situation looks like, knows that those gashes all over Draco's body aren't from any human or curse. It isn't a far leap to make to connect between her wolf going feral and Draco being attacked within the same twenty-four hours. 

Believing it, though, is a task far easier said than done. She can not accept that her wolf, a creature that has always been so docile and kind, would ever attack someone. Until she has concrete proof from Draco, has his word that he was attacked by an animal, she will hold out faith in her wolf. Hermione will not be so quick to betray him, even if he has turned against her.

So Hermione does what she does best in times of turmoil. 

After leaving the hospital wing, Hermione stows away in the vast library, losing herself among the books. She scans through shelf after shelf, pulling out any book she can find that is remotely related to wolves, be it of the wizarding world or not, then carries her collection to a table at the furthest corner of the room. 

Cracking open the first book, she skims through the text.  

Reaching up to around the waist of an average, male human, wolves are the largest member of the dog family. They often hunt in packs of up to 6-10 other wolves and can travel vast distances in a single day.
Their blood-chilling howl is used to communicate to its pack or to warn of incoming, unwelcome wolves. Wolves almost never attack humans, though they are still considered fearsome beasts.

Hermione sighs, finding nothing of great use. It's a small consolation to hear that wolves don't often attack humans, but she isn't entirely sure that Specter, as massive as he is, could constitute as a normal wolf. 

Setting the book aside, she reaches for a second, and finds that it provides no more information than the first had. She grabs the third, opens it, and finds it's an in-depth explanation of werewolves. Despite knowing almost everything about them, she delves into the book anyway.

Though they can live otherwise normal lives, on every full moon a werewolf will go through an incredibly painful transformation from a human into a wolf-like creature. They lose the ability to think in a human way, becoming highly aggressive towards humans — even those to whom they are close to. Though werewolves usually only infect their victims through biting, they sometimes take it too far and kill their victims.

She knew her wolf wasn't a werewolf, but the reaffirmation is enough to cause a sharp breath of relief to puff out. After Remus Lupin, Hermione had learned exactly what a werewolf is like, and Specter is certainly not a werewolf, but reading the passage still puts her at ease.

The next book appears more helpful, even going as far to give descriptions of different types of wolves. She scans through for some that would come close to her own wolf, hoping to find something even remotely helpful.  

The Newfoundland wolf was a medium to large wolf up to 5.5 feet long (nose to end of tail) and up to 100 pounds. It was said to be white, with a black stripe down its spine. (Believed to be extinct in the muggle world).
The Bernard's Wolves are large wolves, standing up to 4 feet tall and 6 feet long from tip of nose to end of tail. They have long thick white hair with a black stripe down their spine. They can weigh anywhere from 60 to 110 pounds.
Eastern timber wolves come in a variety of colors from white to grey and from brown to black. They often have a reddish-brown muzzle and lower legs with white, grey, and black on their back.
These are only some of the many breeds of wolves that can be found all over the world. Wolves were once a popular choice among those studying to become animagus, both for their loyalty and endurance. The liking has since dropped off after muggle hunter's various attempts to trap and kill wolves in hopes of profit.