Aria smiled watching Mimsy, she was such a pleasant house elf. Her attention was grabbed by Magnus tearing through his meal. She noticed that he was still looking for more food though. "Will that bit of meat be enough to satiate his hunger?" Aria asked Bart().

Paddy recognised Mimsy from the first full moon at Hogwarts last term. She was impressed with how fearless the house elf was, entering the cage to give Magnus the meat. Watching Magnus devour the meat, Paddy's thoughts were muddled in her head - part of her was fascinated at being able to watch this, and part of her kept thinking "do I really eat like that?". She knew he would lick the ground before he did, confirming her thoughts, and making her realise just how unsettling it is to watch almost a mirrored reflection of yourself like this.

The low howl made the hairs on her neck stand on end.... something was familiar about the tone. Thinking for a moment, she realised it was almost identical to the howls her father made when he could smell food. "That's how my father howls when he's hungry and can smell food, so I'd say Magnus was still hungry" she said in response to Aria's () question, before Bartelby () had a chance to answer.

She knew they would be safe and unharmed, but she wished she could say the same for Magnus as he crashed into the cage bars and fell back onto the floor.

Bartley shook his head, but didn't have time to reply before Paddy did. "Yes, I'm afraid Paddy is right. He is still hungry. He also has been fed rather than hunt which just isn't quite the same, doesn't burn off engery and the desire for the kill."

"It's really too bad these Islands are so small" Sam mused aloud, as she wiped her eyes. "There are hundreds of square miles in the U.S. and Canada that could be made un-plotable, and no one, muggle or otherwise would notice. You could put wards around 'em, like on a Dragon Sanctuary, to keep people out and the were-folk in over the full moon. A regular hunting retreat for werewolves. I bet it could be done in places in northern Europe too. Make sure there's plenty of wild elk and moose to vent their hunting instinct on, so they don't rage on people. Maybe it'd keep more were-folk from going bad." She cringed as the huge werewolf that Magnus had become howled in hunger and frustration. "

"Its an interesting concept. Of course, you would wonder if it was voluntary, which I would hope, but then not everyone would want to do it, two some people would rather just take wolfsbane and of course the big problem is the werewolfs would mate, which presents a problem for their human counter-parts who would be dormant until the morning."

Sam blushed insanely again. All this talk about mating was way too uncomfortable to think about.
Do you know if there are colonies of werewolves in the wild, like the centaurs? So that they can all be together like Paddy's family? Enough of them should be wizards that could protect the area themselves if they wanted to"

"Well yes, there are. However, most of the colonies tend to be people who are wanting to be more werewolf than human. There's also the colony that resides in the Forbidden Forest... but those don't actually transform and are more akin to pure wolves, except they were born to a human mother."

Paddy blinked a few times, uncertain if she'd heard that right. "There's werewolves in the Forbidden Forest?" She thought back to the previous full moons at Hogwarts, and added, "the full moons here have given me a strange feeling that I've never had before. I thought it was just getting used to a new place, but could it be that I'd sensed the other wolves were nearby?"

( )

"Well they technically are but they don't transform. The human transformed and gave birth to a litter of wolves. Instead of an actual werewolf, they are more like pure wolves. If that makes sense.

Several things happened at once. “Magnus!” Bartley yelled and rushed forward. All three of the unspeakables appeared. A muscular man named Bob, who had been near Sam and the llama, held Bartley tightly from behind as the tall man tried to get loose. The unspeakable near the food, who was called Jim, rushed in front of the cage whilst the remaining man, Paul, came from the corner and attempted to help Bob hold Mr Lee.

“Bartie,” Jim said, “stop! You can’t go in there!”

Bartley, who was fighting the other two unspeakables replied, “Let me go. That’s my son.”

It was Bob who said, “Aye, you think we donae know that?” He said it with a great deal of calm in his voice. “But ye cannae help the laddie. Not yet.”

“Please, Bart,” Jim said, “stand down.” His wand was out but not pointed at Bartley. He was reluctant to stun him just yet. But he would if he needed to, if not only to protect him from doing something foolish than to protect everyone else.

Paul put his hand on Bart’s shoulder. “You know there’s nothing we can do till he shifts back. The children are scared, Bartley. Think of the children; think of your new daughter. ” That sentence seemed to do the trick. Bartley stilled in Bob’s arms. He stared at the cage and said in a low, dangerous voice, “When he transforms, you will let me go. No force on earth will keep me from him.”

“Aye,” Bob agreed, “we will all go to him.”

The unspeakable that calmed Bartley down, turned to the children. He was heavily scarred in his arms and neck. He had a few on his face too. “Kids, I’m Paul,” he said by way of introduction. His American accent a stark contrast to the thick Scottish of Bob’s. “The reason Bart is so…agitated, is because Magnus has just broken a rib. When transforming back, breaks like these can be life threatening.”

The sentence made Bart briefly struggle against Bob. He was visibly upset and had his eyes on the cage.

Magnus was struggling a little to move but not deterred from trying to escape he made a leap, and suddenly Jim shot a spell at Magnus as did Paul. Jim’s spell caused Magnus to go ridged and Paul’s held him in the air. The werewolf made a snarl but otherwise remained immobilized.

“While werewolves are not as immune to magic as dragons it is difficult to keep them subdued. Yet, Jim and I are going to keep him like this until he shifts. We have about thirty minutes until dawn. If he is injured badly, we plan on giving him the draught of living death. He will then sleep deeply until we give him the antidote. You all may speak with me if Bart doesn’t feel like talking.” He looked doubtfully at his friend who seemed lost in his own world but still had Bob restraining him.

((ooc: The final part of this will be posted on Weds (transforming back), which will hopefully give everyone time to rp these last few parts before the next animal. On that note, hopefully the next animals won't be too fast. Tried to pace this well.))

(( I think you did very well. It's a shame I didn't post sooner; I was gonna have Katsumi suggest a magic wind that would blow their scent away from Magnus. I can't remember if there's a spell for stabilizing injuries or not...gonna work on a post now. ^.^ ))

Katsumi jumped when Magnus lunged, and winced at the sound of breaking bone. The appearance of three more men -- she figured they were the Undesirables Mr. Bartley had mentioned -- was also surprising. Lycanthropy seemed to be as hard for those close to the victim as to the werewolf himself, she mused silently. And that was understandable.

Paul's accent caught her attention. She recognized it as American. It wasn't the same as her grandfather's, but there were definite similarities, particularly in his Rs. She considered what the man said, upset that Magnus was hurt, and feeling sorry for his father. "Broken ribs are bad, yes...but I think the worst danger is if it punctures a lung. Even then, it shouldn't be life-threatening if treatment is given right away, and that's part of why you three are here, right?" she ventured. Her words might come across as a bit cold, but she was really trying to be reassuring. "I'm certain Magnus will be alright, Mr. Bartley," the second-year added, looking at the distressed man, before she turned back to the American. "Would using a spell to immobilize Magnus help keep him from exacerbating his injuries when he shifts back?"

Bartley stared at the cage and tugged on Bob's grip. Paul nodded, "Yes that is the life threatening concern we have. Transforming cannot be stabilized like we have him restrained right now. The body will change no matter what we do and that's the concern as he gets smaller, that the rib will hit his lung and puncture it. And until he is back to human he cannot be rendered aid. Those precious seconds could make all the difference. If it happens at the beginning of his shift, we can still do nothing until it is finished. But yes, we are here not only for security but to help if Magnus requires medical attention." He paused for a moment and said, "At a point in time, Bob was a healer. "

"Still am lad," Bob replied to Paul, "you never stop being a healer. Bart, ye want a calming draught?" Bart shook his head. So Bob let it drop. If it got worse the others would assist him in giving the man one.

"We've gone over all the details for month," Paul continued. "But well, Bart loves that boy as do we all. Its hard to watch knowing there's really nothing we can do except wait it out." ((thanks :) been trying ^.^))

Paul gave Sam a look that showed he experienced things he would never likely share. "You can stun them but not for long. Apperation is a good choice, but well the simple fact is most people who meet a werewolf end up dead, unless they are aurors and even then well... dangerous job it is. Oh and just encase you're wondering, silver bullets that muggles believe kill werewolves don't work either. Actually silver and the Essence of Ditny help to heal werewolf wounds. We have some with us tonight." Bartley didn't seem to care about the conversation so Paul continued, "Well, Mimsy is a house elf, Sam. They are sworn to protect those they serve with all their might. The Lees take good care of her as well, are kind and treat her well. But even then we can't exactly put a straw in the werewolf's mouth, close his muzzle and force him to swallow."

Bob chimed in, "Aye and he isnae a human right now, so the potion won't work as well. He'll be weak and hurt badly even if he doesnae puncture a lung but I'll do everything I can for him."

Sam nodded grimly. "So that's why you can't just give him the draught before he transforms, and let him sleep through the change" she observed. Another thought occurred to her, and she felt her cheeks reddening again. Ducking her head to hide her embarrassment, she pulled off her heavy wool cloak. "Um, once he changes back, he might want this. It's really warm, and, er, his pants kind of, y'know, shredded."

"We could give it to him in human form and it would keep him asleep for the transformations, but since its a coma inducing potion its not given lightly. Even though Bart has spoken with Magnus about the draught, he's scared of it. I can't say I blame him because he would be completely dependant on someone else to give him the antidote. I also don't know what kind of effect if any using it three times a month would do." Then Paul gave a deep laugh which stretched some of his facial scars. "Look in the far corner of the cage, hanging from the top. Its his pjs. Gonna magic them on him before anyone can see anything." In the dark shadows was a small bundle of orange fabric, which was presumably the aforementioned pyjamas. "We can clean any blood off them, not that anyone of us really cares if we have to buy the kid a new set of pjs."

"If Muggles can survive injuries like that, when they have to go to a hospital for treatment, I'm sure Magnus can too, even if we need to wait until he's fully human again to help," Katsumi stated, looking at the werewolf again. "And if you really wanted him to take a medicine while in wolf form, maybe you could put it in meat," she added.

Gaia had been staying out of the way of the other students. Magnus is her friend and she couldn't handle what was happening. Thing have taken a weird turn and she wasn't ready for it. She only hoped Magnus () was okay. There was a tear rolling down her cheek.

It took some getting used to, but eventually Fade was able to wrap his head around being without her regular covering of fur. He wondered if she was cold, but kept that thought to himself. Soon enough Bartley (()) announced that his house elf would be making an appearance. Fade was glad to see her when she popped in, and marveled at how fearlessly Mimsy managed her task of feeding Magnus. He even managed to mutter a “You’re so welcome.” Just before she vanished again.

By now it was getting extraordinarily late, approaching early. Fade stifled a yawn and rubbed his eyes. But before he nodded off Magnus was back at it again, frustration overriding sanity the werewolf began throwing himself against the bars once more. If that wasn’t enough to jar Fade awake, the unspeakable team jumping into action to restrain Bartley was more than enough. As tired as his brain was feeling, there was just no way to fall asleep with his heart beating as hard as it was inside his chest. Fade found a chair and slumped into it, and with sad eyes watched his friend struggle against the unspeakable’s spells. “Soon man, just hang in there…” Fade refused to believe that every shred of his friend had disappeared, replaced by an insatiable monster. Behind the terrifying eyes of the werewolf, somewhere in there Magnus was hidden away. The only thing that made the experience tolerable was the knowledge that his friend would be back.

"I believe he will be okay. Bob is a good healer, but," He glanced around the room at the faces of some of the students. "it's still difficult to watch and wait, as you all are experiencing. If it is of any comfort, taking the wolfsbane allows the person to be more or less a calm wolf and sleep through most of this. And the greatest issue is transforming to and from the werewolf." He wasn't sure whatelse he could say to offer comfort to the children. Perhaps, he mused, that was why Bartley hadn't said much either. At least it was nearing dawn.

Aderyn had witnessed Magnus' injury and Bartley's () desperation and it broke her heart to see them both suffering. Stepping forward once Bartley had calmed down, slowly approaching him, stepping a little closer to the cage. It was scary, yes, and she could tell most of the others would have been to afraid to approach, but she trusted that the Unspeakables knew what they were doing with the shield. Coming to stand near Bartley, she motioned to Magnus.

"When he transforms back, perhaps I can help. I'm pretty well versed in healing magic, and I can run out and fetch whatever potion we need from the matron. And... I promised Magnus I would be there when he transformed back."