#aini nufire
Pendragon’s Knights Ch. 3
Arthur stormed up to the front door and began pounding on it. “Tim? It’s me, Arthur. Are you okay in there?” He pounded some more. “Come on, Tim, open the door and talk to me. I’m not leaving until you do.”
It was several more minutes of persistent knocking before he heard the lock clicking and the door snicked open. Tim peeked out, trying to hide behind the door jamb, but Arthur could see enough. He pushed the door open all the way, revealing Tim’s bruised face, his lip split and swollen. Arthur’s blood burned hot with wrath.
“Aw, damn,” Merlin murmured behind him.
Arthur straightened his shoulders and held out his hand. “Tim, come with us. We’ll go straight to the district attorney’s office and you can tell a prosecutor that your dad did this. We’ll protect you.”
Tim shook his head fearfully. “He’s already so mad…if I leave it will only make it worse.”
“If you stay, it will never get better,” Lancelot said gently.
The Darkest Night Ch. 6
Merlin entered the great hall, looking tense. “I managed to salvage some of the solutions,” he told her. “And I may have come up with an antidote.”
“Was Gaius able to find a way to communicate?” she asked.
Merlin fidgeted. “No. I had to…guess. Which means there’s no way to know for sure if it’ll work without testing it on someone. And I don’t know what will happen if I’m wrong.”
Lily’s chest tightened. That sounded very risky, but what else could they do?
Percival waved his arm back and forth to get their attention.
“Percival, are you all right?” Lily asked, going over to him.
He nodded and pointed to himself.
Lily frowned. “What?”
He jabbed a finger at her and Merlin’s general direction, then at himself firmly. Lily’s eyes widened as she realized what he was trying to convey.
Merlin was frowning. “It’s dangerous.”
Percival pounded his chest again insistently.
Nightshade Ch. 1
Percival and Leon are accidentally exposed to a toxic plant that sends them into paranoid delusions. And they each end up taking hostages.
“Test Subject”
A wizard in search of a cure for lycanthropy needs test subjects. And since werewolves are classified as beasts and not people, consent isn’t necessary.
“Teaching Moment”
Professor Bixby wants to show his students just how vicious werewolves are. Handy that one is sitting in his class and the full moon is tomorrow…
Hunters Moon Ch. 4
Now he was on the ground and the serket charged in to finish him off. But a blur of gray leaped between it and Merlin, latching powerful jaws around one pincher arm and yanking it away. The serket reeled back and snapped its other at the wolf, who released its hold and darted away. It charged in again, going for the joints not lined in armored exoskeleton. The serket twisted and thrashed, stabbing its stinger down multiple times in an effort to skewer the wolf. The wolf dove under the giant scorpion’s belly and tore its teeth at the underside.
Merlin’s heart lurched into his throat as the serket skittered backward, and for a horrified moment, it looked like the wolf had been trampled. But it emerged on the other side, darting around to take another pass. The serket finally decided it wasn’t worth the trouble and turned to retreat back into the forest.
Merlin stayed on the ground as the wolf flicked its gaze at him. “Lancelot?”
The wolf stared back at him. Fresh blood streaked his fur in places, but it didn’t look like he’d taken serious injury. A wolf pack yipped in the distance, and he turned toward it.
“Wait!” Merlin blurted. “Lancelot, don’t. I know you’re still in there.”
The wolf paused to look back at him.
“You wouldn’t have come to my rescue just now if a part of you wasn’t still in there,” Merlin pleaded, getting up on his knees to stay eye level with him. “I can change you back now. Please.”
Hunters Moon Ch. 3
The glistening red blood trail was easier to follow in the dark than simple tracks were. Merlin’s heart clenched the further it went, afraid they wouldn’t find Lancelot again—or that it would be too late. But finally the trail led into a crevice beneath the roots of a large oak, and Merlin spotted a pair of gleaming eyes watching them warily.
“Lancelot?” he called.
The wolf tried to press itself further into the hollow. Part of the arrow shaft had broken off in his earlier flight, but a large section was still protruding from his side and blood had matted his fur.
“Easy,” Merlin soothed, crouching down to the wolf’s eye level. “It’s me, Merlin, remember? You scared me running off like that,” he added.
Lancelot eyed him for a prolonged beat before shuffling his way to the edge of the crevice.
“That’s it,” Merlin coaxed. “You trust me, right?”
Lancelot whined and crawled the rest of the way out. Merlin ran his hands over the wolf’s neck and shoulders.
Hunters Moon Ch. 2
The occasional song of the Fae horn in the night sent shivers up Merlin’s spine every time it sounded. The fact that it was increasing in repetitions only added to the foreboding.
“Pst,” Percival said, hunkering down and peering ahead through the foliage. “There.”
Merlin followed his gaze, heart giving a jolt as he spotted a wolf pacing on a large boulder next to a stream. Lancelot. Or, Merlin hoped it was him.
He pushed through the underbrush and stepped out onto the bank, ignoring Arthur’s hissed “Merlin”. The wolf snapped its gaze to him and hunched its shoulders, ears flattening and tail curling under his legs.
“Lancelot?” Merlin called tentatively, moving ever so slowly.
The wolf’s ear twitched, its brown eyes dark with fear. Merlin looked into them and saw the reflection of his friend, absolutely terrified.
Hunters Moon Ch. 1
A curse turns Lancelot into a wolf. Now Merlin not only has to find a way to change him back but also save him from the Fae’s Hunt.
Under Siege Ch. 5
There were still a lot of things to handle, so it was a while before Arthur had a free moment to go see Lancelot and Lily. Their door was open, probably from people coming and going. Arthur knocked quietly to announce himself before stepping inside. Lily was asleep in the bed, and Lancelot was pacing as he rocked an infant in his arms. He looked over at Arthur’s entrance and smiled.
Arthur crossed the room and looked down at the wee thing. It had a tiny fist wrapped around Lancelot’s much larger finger. “Congratulations,” he said.
Lancelot nodded in acknowledgement. “They’re so small,” he remarked, glancing over to a bassinet near the bed.
Arthur spotted a second baby sleeping inside it.
“I’ve never been more scared,” Lancelot confessed, keeping his voice down. “I was so excited to be a father, but now…I have no idea what I’m doing.”
“You’ll do fine,” Arthur assured him. “And you’ll be a wonderful father, Lancelot, I have no doubt.”
The Little Werewolf Ch. 4
With just a few weeks until the start of the new school year, the teachers were back at Hogwarts and preparing for the arrival of the students. Hagrid took one of the secret tunnels up to the hospital ward, not wanting to get waylaid by a bunch of professors demanding answers, or worse, Filch. He burst through the wall panel in the back of the hall, giving Madam Pomfrey a proper scare. She’d been stocking the cupboards only a few feet away and let out a shrill scream at his raucous entrance.
“Hagrid!” she snapped when she’d recovered her wits, only to stop and gape at the bloodied boy in his arms.
“Please, help him,” Hagrid begged.
She straightened with immediate professionalism and waved sharply at the nearest bed. Hagrid made the few strides toward it and laid Remus on the white sheets.
“This is not a student,” Poppy said as she waved her wand over the boy with diagnostic spells.
“P-please,” Hagrid blubbered. “Just help him.”
The Little Werewolf Ch. 3
With the next full moon in mind and a plan for dealing with it, Hagrid took Remus deep into the forest to introduce him to Aragog.
“Now, a lot of people would call Aragog a dark creature,” Hagrid explained. “And they wouldn’t even bother to give him a chance, but he’s not all bad, once you get to know him.”
Remus looked a little nervous about meeting a giant spider but bravely followed Hagrid into the darkest part of the wood where the trees were so thick that they blocked out direct sunlight. Strands of old webs lay strewn over sickly leaves, while larger clumps clung to whole bushes. There were some fresh webs set out for prey, viscous cords strung between trees.
The forest seemed eerily quiet and empty, but Hagrid knew better. He paused and looked up into the trees where the giant spider was perched as though ready to pounce. Remus’s eyes widened.
“Okay, you’ve had your fun,” Hagrid chided. “Come down and meet my friend.”
The spider curled its legs in and descended from the tree canopy by a rope of web. He touched down on the ground and drew himself up to his full height, taller than Hagrid.
“Aragog, this is Remus. Remus, this is Aragog. You’ve actually met before, when you were furry.”
“Hi,” Remus said timidly.
“You are fortunate to be Hagrid’s friend,” Aragog replied.
Hagrid shot the spider a warning look not to frighten the boy. He needed Aragog’s help, after all.
The Little Werewolf Ch. 2
Hagrid spent the next few days taking Remus with him on his outings, showing him around the grounds and teaching him about the stuff he did to maintain them. The boy remained reserved throughout it all and didn’t say much, but he had a natural curiosity that Hagrid could see brimming just beneath the surface, and he seemed interested in everything Hagrid showed him.
Hagrid kept a close eye on the calendar, watching the days until the full moon. He hadn’t brought up Remus’s lycanthropy yet. It was no doubt a painful subject for the boy and Hagrid was waiting for him to open up about it. But if he didn’t, then Hagrid was going to have to initiate that conversation, since precautions were going to have to be taken. Not that he had a plan as of yet. The idea of chaining the boy up seemed too barbaric, even though it was only logical. Hagrid probably should have gone up to the castle for help, but with Dumbledore away, he was worried about how the staff still present would react, not to mention he was still working on earning Remus’s trust and he didn’t want to betray that.
The morning of the full moon arrived, but apparently Hagrid hadn’t been the only one keenly aware of it, because when he woke up at dawn, Remus was gone. There was a scrap of parchment on the table with only two words in a child’s messy handwriting. “I’m sorry.”
Under Siege Ch. 2
Merlin woke to a sense of soreness he couldn’t quite place. He prized his eyelids open and looked around Gaius’s chambers, recognizing the viewpoint from the patient cot.
“Hey,” Lily spoke by his side. “Welcome back.”
He shifted his head toward her, wincing as his neck resisted the small movement. “Wh—” he tried to speak, only for excruciating fire to ignite in his throat, and he curled onto his side with a whimper.
Lily grabbed his shoulders. “Don’t try to speak,” she cautioned.
“Sit him up,” he heard Gaius say.
Another pair of hands braced him from behind and elevated him slightly. He wanted to cough, to cry, but he could barely swallow around the agony in this throat.
“Drink this,” Gaius said, putting a cup to his lips.
Merlin opened his mouth to drink. Warm liquid with honey slid down his throat, which only aggravated the fire more. He made a gargled sound of pain and tried to recoil, but the hands behind him held firm.
The Little Werewolf Ch. 1
In the summer of 1971, Hagrid finds a child werewolf abandoned in the Forbidden Forest and takes him in.
A Place in this World Ch. 5
Sirius cleared his throat. “I’m sorry for not trusting you.”
Remus dropped his gaze. “I understand why you didn’t,” he murmured.
“No,” Sirius cut him off. “There was no good reason for it. We spent all those years at Hogwarts telling you it didn’t matter that you were a werewolf, but you were right; the majority of the wizarding world doesn’t feel the same. And all this fear and paranoia…I let it get to me. You didn’t deserve it, Remus. You never deserve it. And I am sorry.”
“So am I,” James said.
Remus stared at his scarred hands in his lap. “I forgive you,” he said quietly, and he meant it.
“You deserve so much more than what the world has given you,” James said.
Remus’s throat constricted, and he had to take a second to keep himself composed. He didn’t need another breakdown in front of his friends. “I’ve already gotten more than I could have ever hoped for,” he said, looking up. “More than any other werewolf has gotten. Thank you for being my friends.”
Sleep Tight Don’t Let the Nightmares Bite Ch. 4
Merlin rounded the corner and pulled up short. There it was. “Fan out,” he instructed.
The knights spread out along the sides, their gazes sweeping wildly back and forth since they couldn’t see the creature. But Merlin could see it, backing up into an alcove. They had it cornered. It snapped its eyes to Merlin and spat viciously. Merlin leaped forward with Excalibur to stab it. It tried to dart away, and so the blade only skimmed the back of its flank, but the sword did manage to cut it.
The mara screeched in shock and rage and skittered around. It probably didn’t know the knights couldn’t see it. Merlin circled around to come at it again.
The creature whipped its head back and forth, but it had nowhere to go. Until it turned and leaped straight at Lancelot. But it didn’t crash against him; it went into him and vanished. Lancelot jerked and his eyes immediately rolled back as he collapsed to the floor.
A Place in this World Ch. 4
“I’m worried about him,” Sirius said quietly as they sat in the den. “I wish he would talk to us. I even offered him my wand to write with but he just shook his head.”
Lily wrung her hands in her lap. “He knows you thought he was the spy,” she shared. “I went to see him after Christmas, to ask why he hadn’t come. He told me then.”
Sirius cursed under his breath.
“He tried to tell me it was only natural,” she went on. “But I could see how deeply it hurt him.”
James ran a hand through his hair. “All of the work we did in school getting Remus to believe he wasn’t a monster and we didn’t look at him any differently for being a werewolf…and we turned around and made him think exactly that.”
“He said…” Lily’s throat constricted. “He told me he didn’t expect to have a place in the world after the war, no matter who won. I think that’s why he was pushing us away. He’d already seen it starting and thought it was inevitable.”
James and Sirius looked absolutely wrecked with guilt. Lily knew they hadn’t meant to cause so much damage. It was the war. War did terrible things to people.
She just hoped it wasn’t too late to fix it.
