Freddy was so hungry she could've literally eaten the backside out of a low flying mountain duck. She contemplated this thoughtfully as she stomped behind her idiotic best friend.
"Aubrey, if you don't bloody hurry up, I will promise that you'll only wish Herbology was your biggest problem," She threatened, squinting over the hillside where she could finally see the greenhouses under the glowing moon. The full moon, Freddy realised, shivering.
Bertram Aubrey chuckled cheerily. "Merlin, when did you become so mean, little snake?" he teased her, shooting a grin over his shoulder. Freddy glowered back, tightening her arms around her chest.
"Around the time the temperature dropped into the minuses," she snapped heatedly. Bertram just laughed again, directing her towards Greenhouse Three. Bertram had a time sensitive Herbology experiment, and had to check his poisonous subject every six hours for two weeks. Unsurprisingly, Bertram cornered Freddy on her way to her dormitory in the dungeons from the Hogwarts library. Nearly every night found Freddy in the furthermost corner table of the library, her face buried in homework or extracurricular reading material. Given her predictable habits, it really came to no surprise that Bertram had intercepted her and dragged her along for an 'adventure'. Her already minimal curiosity was squashed when he confessed that their adventure was for his major Herbology assignment.
"Okay, you just wait out here, little snake, and I'll be back quicker than you can say 'Quidditch'," Bertram exclaimed, pulling open the greenhouse door. It groaned and complained as he swung it open, sauntering into the greenhouse with a cocky aura. Freddy sighed, leaning against the side of the greenhouse once she inspected it for spider webs. She debated legging it back to the castle, but the intimidating full moon hanging in the sky made her reluctant. The Forbidden Forest shore crossed into the Hogwarts grounds only several dozen yards from where she stood, and she wasn't near brave enough to walk by without the comfort of her Ravenclaw friend beside her. Everyone at Hogwarts was well aware of the danger of the Forbidden Forest, and each person had their own ideas about exactly what creatures resided in the deadly forest. No matter how many times Freddy told Bertram there was definitely werewolves who roamed the forest once a month, he refused to believe her. The Headmaster wouldn't allow beasts like werewolves so close to a castle full of children, he would always rebut with. Freddy had her own opinions on Headmaster Dumbledore's common sense, but she didn't bother mentioning it to Bertram, who idolized Dumbledore, much like the rest of the student body. Freddy had never gotten the chance to like the elder witch once she was Sorted into Slytherin. Dumbledore would never admit it, even if his life depended on it, that he was unsettled by the House of Slytherin. Freddy could see it in his eyes – the way they seemed to twinkle less when it involved Slytherins. He paid special visits to the Slytherin common room, as if he would catch all the green and silver robed students trading Dark spells with one another. Bertram told her he'd never seen the Headmaster step foot into Ravenclaw's common room more than once, and Freddy assumed Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors wouldn't say much differently. In the few times Freddy had been in the common room when Headmaster Dumbledore paid visits, she watched as he surveyed the students carefully, searching for evilness in his young Slytherin students. It fascinated Freddy, and her biting curiosity sent her to the school library. It didn't take long for Freddy to find an old yearbook from the 1930s. Nothing about the student portraits would have held her attention if it weren't for the infamous name that was scratched underneath one with a quill. Lord Voldemort. Riddle, Tom Marvelo. Tom Riddle had been an academic Slytherin student, who had turned into an uprising Dark Lord in a matter or two dozen years.
Every day, students used to receive their own copies of the Daily Prophet newspaper had they subscribed. News of Voldemort's activities took over the front page every week or so, then it became every few days, and now it was every single day. Less and less Daily Prophets were dropped into students awaiting hands as they ate their breakfast in the Great Hall, most students no longer willing to look at a climbing and unstoppable death toll.
What scared Freddy the most – more than the news of dead families and mutilated Muggles, was the Dark Lord's unfathomable interest in senior Slytherin students. He was recruiting, or rather, he had his followers recruit for him. Freddy heard whispers in her common room, whispers in her dormitory, and she was terrified of facing Lord Voldemort's followers, and being faced with the ultimatum. Join the Death Eaters, or die. Freddy knew what she would end up choosing. So she spent more and more time in the library and less in her common room and dormitory. She would sit in the far back of classrooms and not associate with other Slytherins – which wasn't very difficult – and she began purposely lowering the quality of her essays and assignments for her classes. If she was an average students with no influence and no connections, the Dark Lord wouldn't want her. Even better, he mightn't be aware of her existence at all.
Freddy heard a clatter inside the greenhouse behind her, and glanced in the open doorway. "Are you finished yet, Aubrey?" She called out impatiently, sighing heavily, her breath puffing out a foggy cloud.
Bertram's laughter lightly drifted to Freddy's ears. "Nearly!" He called. Freddy blew out her cheeks, glancing around the eerie grounds of Hogwarts. She could see the groundskeeper's hut on the other side of the hill valley. The quaint wooden cabin is nestled by a pumpkin patch on one side, while the Forbidden Forest crept up behind the other side. A swirl of smoke glided from the chimney, dissipating slowly as it climbed the starry sky.
Freddy froze as she heard a howl echo from the Forbidden Forest, long and drawn out as it no doubt stared up at the daunting full moon. A chill slithered down Freddy's spine, and she stood straight, peeking inside the greenhouse, anxious to see her friend reappear. "Morgana – hurry up, Aubrey!" Freddy demanded, tightening her hands into fists nervously. If she were stupid enough to not worry about the werewolf in the forest, she would've been Sorted into Gryffindor. Freddy took a step away from the greenhouse, about to leave Bertram behind, until he appeared, grinning.
"D'ya reckon that was a werewolf?" He asked her, eyes wide with excitement.
"Yes, I bloody well do," she cried in exasperation, "Now let's go!" Bertram paid no heed to her worry, rolling his eyes as they began walking back to the castle – in Freddy's case, briskly.
"Merlin, could you walk any faster, woman?" Bertram huffed, ruffling his auburn mass of curls as the ascended the hill. She didn't answer, instead beckoning him to keep up so they could get back inside the confines of their school walls.
Freddy glanced over her shoulder, the forest staring straight at her challengingly. She blew out a breath, trudging along the apex of the hill. Paranoia beginning to eat at her mind, she looked behind again, and almost tripped over her feet.
A wolf stood at the edge of the forest, baring its salivating canines in the moonlight.
"Werewolf," Freddy whispered, her eyes wide with terror, grabbing onto Bertram's sleeve tightly, her knuckles whitening.
Even from a distance, Freddy could see the almost human eyes watching her, the short snout tilting upwards to find her and Bertram's scents. Its fur looked soft, despite the horrifying snapping it did with its razor teeth. It was a light brown, wavering in the wind. Freddy's statue-like posture was startled by moment in the trees behind the werewolf. She squinted, her lips parted as she tried to make out the silhouettes.
When she did, her eyes widened in disbelief, and she made a strangled sound.
"Is that a deer?" Bertram questioned incredulously beside Freddy. It was a stag, its tangle of antlers sprouting elegantly above its head. It stepped slowly forward until it was slightly in front of the werewolf, shaking its headful of antlers in an odd motion. On the other side of the werewolf was a dog, about three quarters the height of the werewolf. It was carbon black, and if Freddy didn't know any better, it appeared to be communicating with the stag.
But she did know better – the only way she could understand why a werewolf, a stag and a dog would even be near each other was if they were Animagi. An Animagus is a witch or wizard with the ability to transform into an animal. Although she tried to convince herself, she knew the werewolf was definitely a werewolf, and not an Animagus. Freddy swallowed hard, and took a step back. Just because there were two Animagi insane enough to roam around with a werewolf didn't mean said werewolf was any less dangerous. Freddy knew this. By the way Bertram was frozen, she wasn't sure if he did.
Watching the trio of creatures at the front line of trees, Freddy saw the stag and dog shuffle in front of the werewolf, as if attempting to distract the mindless beast from hunting Bertram and Freddy. Freddy looked around, pushing her blonde hair out of her face as gusts of wind assaulted the pair on the hill. The castle was so far away, she wasn't very confident they would make it. The groundskeeper cabin was closer to the werewolf than it was to her and Bertram. The greenhouses were their best option.
"The greenhouse," Freddy murmured, squeezing Bertram's arm. He looked over at the greenhouses, nodding slowly. "Go."
They both sprinted, pushing forward as they stared down the greenhouses with determination. Freddy made the mistake of checking the forest boundary, where the werewolf had stood. It was no longer there. Now it was at least half way towards them. Freddy gave a cry as she forced herself to run faster, tailing Bertram closely. All she could hear was the squelching of her shoes, her heavy breaths and the wind in her ears. Her throat started closing up in terror, and she managed to pat her pocket clumsily as she ran. She felt her wand and quickly tugged it out, clenching it tightly as she sprinted. The werewolf was closer, and closer. Behind, the stag and dog attempted to keep up, but they were slowly falling behind despite their best efforts. Tears sprung in Freddy's eyes, blurring her vision of the greenhouse ahead. The werewolf only metres away, Freddy lifted her wand, aiming it at the back of Bertram.
"Ascendio," she managed to choke, her chest burning. Bertram gave a shout of surprise as he shot in the air, tumbling for a short time before he crashed through the doorway of Greenhouse Three. Freddy lifted her wand again, opening her mouth and about to spell herself to the safe confines of the greenhouse. But before she could utter the spell, her feet were torn out from underneath her, and she half flipped before landing awkwardly in the damp grass. Her wand had fallen from her hand in her shock, and she nearly crawled to its location when she realised the werewolf stood over her, baring its sharp teeth and snapping its jaw maliciously. Tears rolled down Freddy's cheeks, and she squeezed her eyes shut momentarily. She had no wand, no way of defending herself, and there was a deadly beast only inches from her face.
As she laid on the wet grass, Freddy couldn't remember being starving for a late dinner, or being frozen to her core from waiting out in the bitter wind while Bertram tended to his Herbology. She could see Bertram, standing shakily at the greenhouse entrance. She opened her mouth, and could only mouth the word, 'help' to her best friend. He stared back at her, his brows furrowed in terror. The werewolf howled again, scaring Freddy with the sudden and ear-piercing sound. Saliva dropped from its canines and landed on her cheek, sliding down her jaw.
Looking back at Bertram, Freddy suddenly lost sight of him as he backed into the shadows of the greenhouse, quickly slamming the door shut. Freddy swallowed, unable to even process her friend's betrayal as she tried to escape the werewolf's grasp with her life. She lifted her foot, and without further hesitation, slammed it into the werewolf's abdomen forcefully. It growled as it hunched over itself, giving Freddy seconds to wriggle out from underneath and crawl away.
"Remus, no!" She heard a shout, before she felt pointed fangs sink into the side of her waist, ripping through her shirt and sweater as they pressed through her flesh.
She screamed. Her voice cracked and her throat ached, but she screamed for what seemed like forever. Tears poured down her cheeks as she smothered her face into the grass in agony.
Her side throbbed, the pain itching and biting in her wound.
Freddy wasn't sure when the werewolf released her waist, or when she stopped screaming, but when she looked up through her tears, she saw a face she definitely wasn't expecting.
"Sirius Black?"
-SempiternallySirius