Tonks

It was dark. I remember that so clearly. It was an almost unnatural kind of darkness. The kind that seems to swallow everything in sight, that keeps us all within the compact place that was our

world however frightening at the time. This blackness that seemed to sweep down and scoop all contents into its unfeeling arms to the point where it frightened so many of our ancestors before

us. And now?

I could barely believe that a few months ago I had to sat up in my dormitory only to look up at the stars in contentment, harbored by this same sky that was looming above me as a

sick joke. Mocking me almost. If you ever doubted my power before, pay close attention now, It seemed to say.

How had this come to be? The fact that I was even involved in this mess seemed proof positive that my luck, if it existed, should be called into question. It just seemed to ironic (of all things!) for

me to end up outside on this night. This one night where no one was safe but nobody knew.

I swallowed, the sound of blood thumping in my ears a sick reminder of....Oh god no. I whipped my head around looking back up at the castle looming above me no matter how far away it was. It

seemed to block my view of the sky completely. Turning back to where the forest stretched over the ever expanding grounds; trees black as ebony, their feathery looking branches reaching for

the pitch dark ceiling above them.

I shook my head trying to focus. Focus. Find him and then run. The moment I raised my foot to take a step the sound split into the air like it had been waiting for me to make a move, to make

that final decision before announcing what was going to happen next. A wolf...howling. Not just any wolf.

I felt my chest rise and fall with every shallow breath I took and I could have sworn I heard my heart speed up with just my ears. "No--" I choked out, my voice sounding wrong. It sounded like it

didn't belong to me. It sounded so familiar like--....A twig snapped somewhere in the distance and I turned my body towards the castle immediately when a flock of birds flew off into the distance

away from whatever had caused the disturbance.

Suddenly, I came to my senses and realized I was mad, mad for trying to save the night. I was no hero and I had no business being here. But I could not, would not let my cousin down. I turned

and ran head first into the thick arms of the trees. I fought through branches scratching at my hands, arms and my face, stumbling into this black dwelling. I cried out as I felt a particularly sharp

branch scrape my skin mercilessly but I kept moving.

The moment I was free I tore through the brush running like I only had maybe twice in my life. I debated if I should call out for him but knew it was not wise for the current situation and in any

case, why would he listen to me?

I ran further still and hopped over a fallen stump before it took me down. It was almost a miracle; that is until the toe of my sneaker caught a tree root sending me sprawling on my stomach into

the dirt. My faux-grace couldn't have even lasted longer than two seconds. I stifled a cry as I felt the muscles in my foot pull in a way I knew was not natural. Pain shot through and then the

numbness came. I hesitantly placed my foot down to see if I could stand but another shot of pain halted my attempt.

It was silent then except for the stir of wind and my own panting as my chest heaved. I turned on my back to face the navy sky barely visible through the thicket of woods. My eyes met with the

one thing I didn't wish to see because it confirmed my fears in every way possible: the full moon hung low, seemingly touching the top of the forest, its bright light the only thing clearly visible at

this point.

A rustle caught my attention as a clump of bushes stirred much more loudly than they should have. The sound seemed close, much too close for my comfort. In fact I was sure that whatever

was out here had been alerted to my presence when I had tumbled to the ground. The wind had died down.

My gaze wandered back to that cursed orb called The Moon and was the last thing I saw before my lids closed. I squeezed my eyes shut willing this all to disappear. I was a witch, I had the ability

to do such things, did I not? Lily could have in the situation, I thought wryly to myself. How I had the ability to joke with myself in the situation was beyond me. Why I would want to joke with

myself at all was further beyond me. Oh god, I was going insane, finally after all these years.

Without the scene around me to remind me of where I was, I let my thoughts wander back to where this all could have possibly started. Or before it did. The sounds I had heard before seem to

be muted, and I thought back to eight months prior when I had known nothing.