Petra performed the same technique on James' scratches, which, she assured him, looked a lot worse than they were. Finally, Rose and Petra helped James and Ralph to their feet.
'Where'd the wolf go?' Ralph asked, shaking. 'Is it gone?'
Petra nodded, looking back toward the forest. 'He's gone.'
Rose gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. 'What about Cameron?' she said through her fingers.
A cursory search found Cameron lying on his face in the grass, the bag from the newsstand covering his head. He had a very large, muddy paw-print on his back but was otherwise completely unhurt.
'What happened?' he asked woozily as they dragged him upright. 'I think I fainted. Did I really faint? I missed the whole thing!'
James sighed, finally feeling some pain in his chest as the wounds stiffened. 'We'll tell you all about it later, Cam. Let's just get back to the castle.'
Limping and bloody, the group of five made their way through the gate, heading toward the welcome glow of the castle windows. After a minute, James trotted back, holding one hand over his chest. He looked around for a few moments, cursing under his breath. Finally, he found his wand in a tuft of grass. He tucked it into his jeans pocket and ran back, yelling for the rest to wait up.
In the dark distance, somewhere between the gate and the village of Hogsmeade, a wolf howled a long, sorrowful note.
Just as Cameron had feared, Professor McGonagall was awaiting the returning students. She sat in a portable chair with a cup of tea and her tartan shawl, a long parchment across her lap. Petra climbed the portico steps first. McGonagall looked up as Petra came into the light.
'You're rather late, Miss Morganstern. Yours is the last name on my list. Perhaps you'd—' the professor's voice cut off as she saw the others climbing slowly up the steps. Her eyes widened, immediately taking in James' bloody shirt and Ralph's mangled wrist. She leapt up, spilling her tea.
'Mr. Potter, Mr. Deedle, what in the world is the meaning…,' she began, and then stopped herself. 'Miss Morganstern, please collect Madam Curio from the Great Hall and ask her to meet us immediately in the hospital wing.'
'It was a—' Ralph began, holding his wrist in front of him.
'Some sort of wild animal,' Petra interrupted. 'It came out of the woods while we were on our way back. It's all my fault, Professor. It probably smelled the half corned beef sandwich I was carrying home from Madam Puddifoot's. I should've known better.'
'We'll determine who should've known what later, Miss Morganstern,' McGonagall huffed, herding the troop toward the hospital wing. 'For now, please hurry! Madam Curio!'
Madam Curio met them shortly after their arrival. She clucked her tongue as she gave James' chest a cursory look, and then turned to Ralph.
'Miss Morganstern, you did a very satisfactory job halting the bleeding on these boys,' she proclaimed in a businesslike manner. 'Would you be so kind as to assist me? By the time my nurses arrive, we'll probably be finished. Hand me that bottle of Arthroset and that box of Dermamend bandages, please. And perhaps you'd be so kind as to clean Mr. Potter's wounds?'
Petra scrubbed her hands and filled a basin. James hissed through his teeth as she began to gently sponge off his scratches.
'You mustn't tell anyone about Ted,' Petra whispered as she worked. 'The world isn't a very forgiving place for werewolves, even half-werewolves like Ted.'
'I know,' James answered quietly. 'He told me about it last year. But he wasn't transforming then. He was just getting really restless and hungry around full moons.'
Petra nodded. 'He still doesn't transform very much. He's only got half the blood of a werewolf. If he'd been a full werewolf, I'd never have been able to talk him out of attacking Ralph. He only looks fully lycanthrope because he's also a Metamorphmagus, like his mother.'
'You mean he purposely transforms himself to look like a wolf?'
Petra shook her head, but more out of confusion than denial. 'It's very complicated. I don't think he really means to. Usually, he can control it, but when a full moon comes, part of Ted really
James sighed, and it hurt his chest. He was about to ask why Ted had only attacked Ralph, but he knew the answer already. Ted had made it very clear when James had talked to him earlier in the day. Ralph was a Dolohov, even if he hadn't formally taken the name, and it was a Dolohov who'd taken Ted's parents away from him. Quietly, James asked, 'Do you think it was Ted that destroyed the tunnel entrance in the Shrieking Shack?'
Petra shrugged slightly. 'It might have been. He… he had reasons to be upset today. I'm afraid I reminded him of his loss, although it wasn't what I meant to do. I just needed to talk to him.'
James studied Petra's face, but he could tell that she wasn't going to say any more. Truthfully, James didn't want to talk about it any further. His forehead still throbbed worryingly, and what he wanted to do most of all was simply rest.
Madam Curio insisted that James and Ralph spend the night in the hospital wing, sleeping on the wonderfully charmed beds. Neither boy minded, since it meant breakfast in bed the next morning. It also postponed the inevitable meeting with the Headmaster, whereupon they would have to explain their unsanctioned misadventure. James' chest had been bandaged rather densely, but he could tell that the werewolf's slashes were already healing swiftly. They itched as the skin knitted together. Living in the wizarding world was a remarkable thing, he thought. Nevertheless, despite all their magic and potions, he reminded himself that Grandfather Weasley had still died of a stupid heart attack. James would have gladly dealt with weeks of slow, painful healing if the alchemists who'd invented Dermamend Skin-Knitting Bandages had spent their time instead working on a magical cure for heart attacks.
'What are we going to tell Merlin?' Ralph whispered to James the next morning as they ate their breakfasts in bed.
James shook his head nervously. 'The truth, I suppose. Except for the part about Ted. Like Petra said, as far as anyone else is concerned, we were attacked by some wild animal. That's all.'
Ralph shuddered. 'I thought he was going to rip me to bits.'
'It sure looked like he wanted to,' James admitted. 'Ralph, Ted wasn't in his right mind. He was all wolfed out, half because of his dad's werewolf blood and half because of his mum's Metamorphmagus blood. I mean, like Petra said, he was still Ted inside, but without any of Ted's self-restraint. He wasn't really trying to kill you. He was trying to avenge his parents. You're just the closest thing he has to somebody to blame.'
'I know,' Ralph answered sadly. 'Really, I don't blame him. But still, does this mean I'm going to turn werewolf too?'
'No,' James replied. 'Ted isn't werewolf enough to fully transform without using his Metamorphmagus abilities. He definitely isn't werewolf enough to spawn any more werewolves. You got off lucky.'
Ralph nodded thoughtfully. 'Still, I think it'll be pretty awkward next time I see him. How do you get along with someone after they nearly ripped your arm off with their teeth?'
'Deal with that when the time comes, Ralph. We've got enough to manage at the moment.'
