Order Only: Last Night

[alt_ron]

All right, so that was some party. I mean, I thought Siz's wedding was   I know some people have really expensive parties all the time, but this was totally amazing. As good as any of the public entertainments they put on in New London--y'know, like the Twelfth Night or Freedom Day faires where they have tents that they trick out like it's an Arabian harem or an underwater palace in Atlantis or a Greek temple or wotever. But Marlborough house is...it's a private house, y'know? And they'd made it look like the inside was a forest with glades and clearings and thickets and caves and one room had a waterfall in it! And that's on top of the house itself being... I can't even describe it. I mean, I've been to Buckingham the once, and it was the same. Dead amazing inside, but

Er, nevermind. I've just never really been in a place like that, alright?

Anywiz, I was mostly in Harry's robe pocket last night, though I did slip out into a bank of fern for a while because I heard Braithewaite say something to Travers about Fenrir Greyback. So, you remember that Greyback had a whole troop of half-transformed werewolves in the parade after Christmas. Even though it was daylight and wasn't the right time of the moon. And then Remus found out the Ministry've been experimenting on werewolves, well, yeah. I reckon that project's been a giant success. Voldemort's using them now to snuff out traitors and frighten the snot out of people. Like hit wizards only more gruesome, if you see what I mean. I guess Braithewaite's been in on it for a while and Travers had just gone along for the first time with 'her', which totally meant Auror Lestrange even though they didn't say so. Anywiz. The funny thing is they're both dead glad it's not Inferi they're working with. Someone's always got it worse, I guess.

That was the most interesting conversation I heard. That and the end of somebody's conversation about fiddlehead ferns coming in from somewhere to Borough Market and some people getting poisoned. Mostly everything else was just people chatting each other up.

Speaking of which. Did the rest of you see Zabini with Susan Spinx? I don't think he came with her--or, um, arrived with her--but he was definitely getting off with her in one of the fairy bowers. I mean, loads of people were getting seriously friendly with other people, weren't they? That's one of those things a snake can tell without looking, in case you wanted to know.

Comments

[alt_lupin]

Greyback's always been delighted with fresh prey. That was the main thing the Death Eaters offered him, back during the war.

[alt_hydra]

Are all werewolves really like that, though? Your example would suggest not.

[alt_lupin]

When transformed, unless they have access to the wolfsbane potion, all werewolves will try to tear apart any human they see. It's not under our voluntary control.

The rest of the month, werewolves are like anyone else, which is to say, some are the sort who'd join the Death Eaters, some are the sort who'd join the Order, and the vast majority would quite prefer to just live their lives and be left alone.

For those who've been partially transformed out of the normal lunar cycle -- well, they marched in that parade. That's not something a transformed werewolf would normally do. There are techniques for influencing the behavior of a transformed werewolf, if you're an animagi, but they're not entirely reliable and certainly don't rise to the level of 'persuading them to march in orderly ranks until it's time to eat people.'

I would guess, and it's hard to know without better information than I have, that the werewolves who are partially transformed physically are also partially, but not entirely, transformed mentally. So they can control their behavior, but the usual inhibitions most people feel against violent behavior are lower. The fact that your mother is involved suggests that the werewolves' participation in this business is not entirely voluntary, and bringing in someone who can intimidate people into falling into line -- that was helpful. (But not so necessary that they brought her in months ago -- though certainly there are other Death Eaters capable of, and willing to, coerce people with violence and fear. It's just that your mother is exceptionally good at it.)

[alt_hydra]

Right, I know that. But Greyback's like that whether he's transformed or not, and I was wondering if they just happened to get enough werewolves together of the same mentality.

I should see if my father knows more about it. I could ask Crouch, but he really only shares on a 'need to know' basis. Though, there's no guarantee that my father has any information since he and Mummy aren't speaking much these days. I don't know why they don't just get a divorce - it's not as if it would surprise anyone, so why would it be so shameful?