Jace had just finished writing his letter to his new penpal Birdy when he started to feel the effects of his Wolfsbane potion brewed by Professor Malfoy. Earlier in the evening he could feel the eyes of his select few professors and didn’t pay them any mind, he knew they were worried about the student body on these particular nights but he knew the potion did very little. If anything it took some of the pain out of transforming but it did suppress the wolf side of his mind so he remained completely human.

Life was rough for this young man, he had barely any friends and often wondered why he was placed in Slytherin – he guessed that one day he would have to speak to the sorting hat. That was if Professor Snape would actually let him, Jace was more in tune to the things that went on in Hogwarts. Something different was in the air that seemed to have people on a slight edge, he kept his ears out and about between conversations that could potentially prove lethal if he were to ever repeat them again.

Being a purebred dire wolf was both a blessing and a curse, it was like Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde. Two personalities moulded into one that could either be very good or incredibly bad, his allergy to lavender almost exposed him in Potion’s last week – thankfully it was early spring and he could blame it on allergies but any other time could’ve been alarming to anyone. Violent sneezing in the middle of class for no reason, could’ve been bad. Jace dreaded the day they would start using silver pewters and cauldrons for the higher level Potion’s.

Professor Malfoy had a very keen eye for Jace’s actions, being his head of house and all – he even sent Jace a monthly Wolfsbane Potion with his initials. For all he knew, Jace was an ugly wolf and not a purebred Direwolf. One day he would have to gather the guts and ask, it had to be the right timing.

With his glass in hand, he met the eyes of Professor Snape and raised a brow. The old coot seemed to be glancing between him and the door. Grinding his teeth, Jace made a point of finishing his dinner and leaving amongst a crowd of other students. He felt the eyes of everyone on his back but he held his head high as he exited the Great Hall. Following the corridor down to where the Slytherin Common Room was, he looked around and headed through the passageway that led to somewhere near the Black Lake. Halfway through the passage, he came to a statue and reached behind it to get an old pair of muddy boots and torn jeans. He stripped his school robes and donned the familiar feel of his other clothes which still smelt like the dirt of the forest from his previous roaming. He hadn’t ever gone deep into the forest but usually deep enough to avoid the Acromantula’s. He hated spiders, with a passion. Unless they were dead and he was hungry, they tasted like chicken.

Feeling excitement starting to bubble with a little bit of dread from the change flooded his veins, the moon hadn’t risen yet but the teachers liked him to leave the castle just after dinner on his fuzz nights. He waded through waist height water before climbing a rather steep and muddy wall which he presumed had collapsed or was made specifically for those of werewolf blood. Passing through the magical threshold, he knew he couldn’t return until dawn but made his way non the less through the pitch black tunnels. It was easy, his eyes could make out every bump or hole in the path whereas a human would be stumbling and positively terrified right now. With a smirk, he came to the usual fork in the road and looked up to the exit. The other ways led to dead ends that left you swimming in incredibly dark water, Jace did not want to find out what was in that water but could faintly smell the fresh air coming from above. It was completely mattered by roots and clumps of mud but that was apart of the trick. Crouching and using the strength of his legs, Jace launched himself up and grabbed onto the thick roots before hoisting his legs up to hook on another. Releasing his arms, he looked back down while upside down and watched as what ever magical charm was placed on the ground made his footsteps and the evidence of him being there disappeared.

Grinning, he reached up and climbed out of the passage way. He waited a few moments and the roots cleared to the opening. Climbing out, they went back to their original resting place and covered the entrance. Jace looked out to the black lake and breathed in deeply, the splash of the squid was off in the distance. The forrest was alive tonight and he was excited. Perhaps he could catch a deer and eat to his wolf’s heart’s content – that would be nice but being in a food coma was not a good idea when he had McGonagall’s class first up in the morning.

His body suddenly became tense as he looked up to the clearing clouds – soon and he would have to change. Bolting deeper into the forest, a safe distance he took off his clothes and stashed them in the trees. He tug his toes into the soft, damp earth that had an eerie fog settling over it. This was normal for Jace, this was home. This is where he loved to spend his time, a place that he felt comfortable. He had served detentions here many a time and most students called him weird for not being afraid. Truth of the matter was, he felt better out here than in the castle where at times he got claustrophobic.

The moon appeared and so the process of Jace’s turning began. Bones snapped painfully, he howled which was human like at first but became animal almost instantly. His muscles stretched and his body shaped, the wolf on the inside tried to fight against the magic of the Wolfsbane but once again failed miserably. Jace didn’t have time to focus on that as he was in too much pain. It clouded his thoughts until suddenly everything became clear – sharp.

He was looking through the eyes of the wolf now, everything had enhanced to the point he knew he wouldn’t need magic. All he needed was this form and he was invincible. Well almost, there was that issue with silver. Digging his feet into the ground, Jace tensed and was off in a split second. He bounced, leaped and ran as fast as he could. He felt his blood surging as his hunting instincts took over, he smelt every animal that had crossed this path in the past year. He locked onto the fresh smell of deer and zeroed in on it. He had been running for almost 8 hours, in the blink of an eye he had his feast when his hearing picked up something.

There was unease in the forest, he left his meal with longing eyes but took off to find out what had everything out of balance. The centaurs respected him so as long as he kept his distance from their foals, he was happy with that and often got to sit in on conversations. They were the only ones who knew of his true linage and left it at that. He crawled into his usual spot, where the grass had formed his perfect bed. He lay his head on his paws and waited for something interesting to come up.

Jace was dozing from his meal when he heard hooves approaching him, raising his head and sleepily alert he shook his head and stood. He was given a message to pass onto his father that he couldn’t decipher – lucky Christmas was coming up otherwise he would’ve had to find a way to meet with his father – skipping class was happening a little bit more often these days.

The moon’s magic started to lift but Jace decided to go back to his meals and freak out the early waking students a bit. With an incredibly loud howl, he heard gasps come from the students attending the early class of Care of Magical Creatures. Their footsteps stopped and he repeated it again, he snuck in a little closer to watch the horrified looks on their faces. He was thoroughly amused, if canines could giggle he would be doing so now. It came out in huffs that almost sounded like giggles, it was close enough.

He began to rise from his spot but something caught his eye from Ravenclaw tower. Someone was standing at the window, looking down. He focused his eyes a little closer and made out the form of Isaac – his crush. Good, he had heard the howling. Jace left his spot and made his way back to the Black Lake, reentered the castle and went back to bed for a few hours before class.