Chapter 5: Hoggy Warty Hogwarts

The three wizards led the "monster" out of the forest, taking time to get around the spider nest. Dan was grateful for that; he wasn't sure he could stop himself from continuing the genocide on the arachnid race.

Dan didn't really like spiders, even before his transformation. The fact that they looked at him with eight eyes wasn't helping, Enderman's instincts told him that this was comparable to a deadly sin and that all sentient beings who looked into his eyes should die.

He wasn't sure why they should die, but they should.

Shaking his head to get rid of useless thoughts, Dan focused on the current conversation. Remus started asking him "yes or no" questions to get more information about his situation. At first there were trivial questions: confirming his name, gender, whether he lived in the Soviet Union before he found his way here – Dan was in great confusion before he remembered that it was the nineties. And now the conversation was starting to get more interesting.

"I'm sorry to ask such a personal question, but have you always looked like this?" Remus asked gently.

"No." Dan shook his head, causing the werewolf to frown. Even with the drawing the Enderman had made on the ground, there was hope that Dan was just a scary-looking creature that had become attached to a human. There was a good chance that, with teleportation abilities, the creature had brought the boy with it, but that was not the case.

"Do you know why you look like this?"

Dan narrowed his eyes, unsure of his answer. Technically, he knew what had happened, but he wasn't sure of the process and how could he even explain that some random deity decided to play with his life? He ended up raising his hand – hell, he had long arms – and shaking it in an unsteady motion.

"Huh," Remus let out a surprised sigh. "So, you have an idea why you look like this, but you're not sure?"

"Yes." He nodded again.

Remus looked at him with interest. "I think I'm beginning to understand the basics of your language. That sound you make when you agree is constant." He noticed. "Stop nodding, I'll try to understand you without moving."

Dan smiled in a way that looked terrifying on his face. He liked this guy.

"Ahem, let's continue." Remus smiled back. "Do you know that you are a wizard?"

Dan stumbled over a snag that got in the way, but managed to keep his balance. He thought that his new appearance and abilities were the end of his changes, but apparently, he was wrong. "No." He answered honestly.

It complicates things, but at the same time explains something. His appearance may well be a result of accidental magic. No one wanted to think that he looked like this because of some dark ritual.

Remus nodded, deciding to ask about it later when they had a better way to talk than simple questions.

"Well, I think that was one of the worst ways to learn something new about yourself." Remus chuckled and made a face as his wound flared up in pain. Dan looked at him with regret, he felt like a real bastard for what he did to the man. And for what? Because Remus looked into his eyes.

"I'm fine, fine." Remus waved it off. "You have a great pair of claws, I'll tell you. I don't remember when someone else could scratch me so hard."

Dan knew the man was trying to laugh it off, but it didn't help at all. "I can't decide if you're a joker by nature or just an idiot?" He muttered.

"I think you said something rude."

Dan stayed silent, grinning to himself.

He felt that all three men reacted differently to his presence. Remus was a negotiator, smart enough to make contact even with a taciturn creature that only vaguely resembled a human. Hagrid was a guide and was incredibly interested in the "creature" part of Dan's life. Snape was the warden, ready to attack at the first sign of aggression.

Dan couldn't help but notice that this team was the perfect balance to make him feel both friendly and distrustful. If he really is a wizard and he was invited to study at Hogwarts, then he has already seen both the carrot and the stick. He wasn't sure if it was an accident or not.

"Say, do you know what kind of creature you've become now? I've never seen anything like it." Hagrid interrupted Remus' next question.

It wasn't the best question, if only because Dan still hadn't fully accepted the fact that he wasn't human anymore. The question hurt, but Hagrid didn't want to upset Dan, he was just far too curious for his own good.

"Yes." Dan replied and the giant seemed to glow with happiness.

Dan took another step and shuddered, feeling like he had walked through an invisible wall of warm liquid, only without any real water to make him wet. And he was grateful for it, the water was like acid to his new body.

"What the fuck was that?" He asked, turning to Remus.

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"Ah, you must have felt the castle's wards. It's a magical defense system that surrounds the school like a dome, keeping intruders out. Since you're our potential student, the wards let you through."

The firs around were slowly replaced by oaks, maples and other deciduous representatives of the forest. The dark, suffocating atmosphere that was in the depths of the forest slowly vanished, leaving behind only a slight sense of danger. A group of four were already approaching the outskirts of the forest and it was showing.

'Like a dome? So I can just walk under it if I want to go in unnoticed? That's stupid.' Dan thought and nodded his thanks.

"Seeing your situation, I think it's best if you wait for the Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress at Professor Hagrid's hut." Snape spoke to Dan for the first time. "We can only hope that what made you this way can be fixed."

Dan just nodded. He couldn't understand what Snape thought of him. On the one hand, Katya always said that Snape was the most hateful people in the world. The man who abused his bully's son because he couldn't let go of a lost love. But the Snape Dan saw in front of him was indifferent to him, preferring to think of the monster as just another unpleasant task that would cease to be his responsibility soon enough.

Dan preferred that attitude over the hate Snape gave Harry.

The line of trees finally broke and they went out to clearing around the castle. Dan's breath was stolen by the sight before his eyes.

On the hill, above the trees all around, was an old gothic castle. Dozens of stone towers rose to the sky, but four of them were much higher than the rest. Some of the towers were turned at impossible angles, supported only by what Dan assumed was magic. Even from afar one could see the huge patterned stained-glass windows that served as windows in this castle.

"Unforgettable view, huh?" Hagrid said to himself. "I would've been happier if you were among the first years that went on boats, but there's nothing we can do about it now."

Pulling himself together, Dan took several long steps to catch up with the men who managed to go ahead while he was staring at the castle. On a hill not far from the castle stood a small hut, surrounded by a field full of huge gourds. A little further on there were animal pens, but now they were empty.

Hagrid opened the door to his house and waved for the guests to come inside. The furniture inside was just right for a giant man and Dan, but for everyone else it was huge. The house had a pleasant antique feel inside, with animal skins scattered across the floor instead of carpets and a burning fire in the fireplace. It was the hunter's house, there was no doubt about it.

"–here you should subtract the length of the wand, not divide by it, Harry. We went through this last year; how could you forget that?" The girl's voice came from inside the hut, causing everyone but Hagrid to freeze.

"I don't know about you, but we don't have it all in our heads all summer. How do you even remember all this?" A second voice answered and Dan finally understood what was going on.

"Because I take my studies seriously, unlike you, Ron."

There were students in Hagrid's hut and neither Remus nor Snape knew about it. The werewolf cast something on the door without a word and closed it.

"Hagrid," he said softly. "What are three students doing in your house? Pretty close to the curfew already, they shouldn't be here."

Hagrid looked at his colleague in surprise. "I couldn't leave Fang alone so I asked Harry, Ron and Hermione to follow him while we were in the woods."

Snape's face turned into something ugly. "Why did you ever thought it would be a good idea?" He sneered.

Their assignment was to go to the Forbidden Forest, one of the most dangerous and most fertile places in the world, to pick up a potential student from there. There was a big chance Dan could be injured, near death or even already dead, so the three of them could have witnessed his demise. That's not even counting that Black was out and about, snooping around Hogsmeade.

Hagrid at least had the decency to look ashamed. "I was hoping we'd be back before nightfall. Aragog and his family could've helped with the search."

Everyone looked at him with wide eyes, not understanding how he could believe that man-eating spiders would help find a child.

The door to the hut suddenly opened with a loud creak and a girl with brown curly hair was now standing on the threshold.

She blinked in confusion at the sight of the three Professors together, especially with Snape. "Erm… Good evening, Professors," she said uncertainly.

Snape quickly glanced at the spot where Dan should have been and was surprised to see that there were only purple sparks in his place. 'Apparently this 'Dan' has more brains than I thought.'

"Good evening, Hermione. You and your friends can go back to your common rooms." Remus said smoothly.

Hermione nodded and after a while the three of them left for the castle, not noticing the tall black figure looming at the edge of the forest.

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