The wind made the leaves rustle around him, filling the forest around him with nocturn noises. The air felt cold against his skin but he wasn't bothered.
He was breathing hard but he kept trying to laugh. He couldn't remember when he had laughed so much about anything.
It seemed like a dream... To feel this happy... To be able to smile without anyone telling him some nasty words about him.

He felt... he felt like he could do anything he wanted at that moment.
The boy who wasn't wanted by anyone, or so his relatives said, felt happy. He didn't know if he should smile or cry... or both.
He couldn't think straight. Not at that moment, not that night.

The full moon shone above him up in the dark blue sky.
It almost seemed to glow differently that night, though it could just be because he rarely left his cupboard. After all... What reason did he have to leave the only place that no one would bother him?
But the boy didn't if he actually wanted to return at all... Maybe he could stay there... Under the big Ash tree...

With her...

Harry looked to his side.
Beside him, breathing calmly, was an enormous dark figure. A figure with thick dark fur with glimpses of red visible in the moonlight.
A very furry, wild and enormous beast... A monster...
The boy just smiled at the star filled sky and thought that... deep inside him... He wished this wasn't a dream.

He wished he wasn't all alone again.
He wished the warm feeling inside him wasn't just an ilusion.
He wished...

Harry woke with a start that morning. He was gasping for air and his head weighed like a ton. It hurted and his eyes were unfocused.
He reached for his glasses and saw that he was trembling.
It had been a vicious nightmare but he couldn't remember what it was about.
There had been voices in it. Chanting about stars and the moon...

A rough knock on his cupboard door made him jump.

-" Wake up! Wake up now! "- his aunt told him harshly.

Harry knew there would not be another warning and scrambled to get dressed, shooing off a few spiders and dusting an old oversized shirt out of a moldy box.
He quickly got out of the cupboard and went towards the kitchen. He didn't even know what time or day it was but it looked early.
The boy started making breakfast, his aunt glaring at him while she made coffee.

But soon noise started to come from upstairs. Harry's cousin, Dudley, must've started to wake up. Harry was always surprised at how his cousin was capable of heaving himself from the bed without help.
Harry's cousin Dudley was a very fat young boy, a few weeks older than Harry, with blonde hair and blue eyes. Dudley took after his father, Uncle Vernon, in both looks and personality.

Harry didn't like his cousin very much but he couldn't do a thing about it. He decided just to focus on making breakfast at that moment.
After a while both his uncle and his cousin walked into the kitchen. Dudley looked the same as he did everyday but that didn't kept his mother bragging about him seeming so mature and so handsome.

Uncle Vernon, on the other hand, seemed... happy?

-" It's wonderful! Simply wonderful! "- he told his wife and son while sipping his coffee, completly ignoring Harry, -" He agreed to meet next sunday for dinner! It's going to be a milestone in my career!"

-" Oh, that's wonderful honey! "- Aunt Petunia beamed -" Can you imagine what Mrs. Wilson will say when she hears this?"

-" Yeah, that's really great dad... "- Dudley said, not impressed.

-" Yes, it is! "- Uncle Vernon said -" It will have to be a big dinner. And we'll have to rehearse what we will be doing or what we'll say... "- his uncle said.

-" Yes! I will cook my most prized recipies and i'll make my famous treacle tart for dessert! "- Aunt Petunia said.

To this both Dudley and Harry raised their heads.

-" Oh, and of course there's going to be an extra big slice of it to my ickle Diddykins! "- Aunt Petunia told Dudley -" And you..."

-" You will be out of the house. "- Uncle Vernon finished -" It's too important to have you here in the house trying to sabotage this dinner!"

-" But... "- Harry tried to say.

-" No talking back! "- Uncle Vernon roared -" You'll be out of the house and only return when the dinner is over, understood?"

-" Yes, Uncle Vernon... "- Harry said, defeated.

-" Good. I shudder to think what a freak like you would do if you had the chance. "- Uncle Vernon said.

A twinge of anger and pain shot through his chest. Harry hated that word and that seemed to only make them call him that more.
Deep inside him he knew that strange things happened around him and that he was a bit different but... He didn't want to be different...
He hated when they shoved him out of the house whenever there was a big party or a work related dinner, just because Harry couldn't be seen or that he might ruin it.

But this time it was different. Harry himself felt as if he had already heard Uncle Vernon say that to him.
Though Harry couldn't remember when...

Finally the big day had arrived.
The Dursley's were all groomed and the house looked clean and sparkly from the floor to the ceiling. The only thing that didn't belong was Harry.
His large hand-me-down t-shirt from Dudley and the worn out trouser plus the old sneakers made Harry look like he was incredibly small and skinny.

Uncle Vernon wasted no time in throwing Harry out of the house and telling him to go somewhere else where he couldn't be either seen or heard by anyone.
So naturally Harry could only think of one place... The woods near the playground he usually went in the cooler summer days.
The boy rarely looked up to the sky or seemed interested in the phases of the moon or else he would've noticed...

It was a full moon that night.

Harry reached the entry to the woods and peeked inside. It was fairly large with several types of tall trees. Oak and pine, rowan and ash. Harry wasn't so much of an outdoors person but that was probably because his relatives rarely allowed him to be outside at all.
The breeze was cool and the smells of the forest flowed through him and made his head start picturing him bathing in sunlight, laying down on the grass.

The boy shook his head. He needed it to be clear and focused, after all he was about to venture into some dark woods no one really knew anything about, not carrying anything with him other than the clothes on his back, and the sun was long gone with only a few traces of purple in the growing darker blue sky.
Harry entered the woods and started to walk in a straight line, he didn't want to get lost inside it, and began to look for a place where he could sit down with a clear view of everything around him.

He had never been camping but he didn't need to be a genius to know that he shouldn't lower his guard just in case something comes running at him.
Harry found a clearing in the woods after walking for a while. He felt tired and a bit cold but he didn't say a thing, he was too used to keep his real thoughts inside his head and not saying them aloud.

The boy looked at the sky for the first time since he entered the woods. It was really dark blue but there were wisps of light scattered in the sky. Stars... The sky was filled with stars. Harry never really bothered to look up at the sky so he really didn't know how beautiful it was.
An endless blanket of blue with small silvery dots scattered about.

He almost closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep but his self-awarness made him stay awake.
He didn't want to be a sitting duck for whatever might be in the woods at night.

' Strange...' - Harry thought -' I haven't seen or heard anything since i entered the woods... Not even the hooting of an owl...'

' Why are the woods so quiet? Isn't this a very good place to live in peace and quiet?'

' Probably not if no animals are around...' - a voice inside Harry said -' I wonder if they're scared of something...'

Harry started to curse in his head at his thoughts. They weren't helping him relax or even feeling a tiny bit safe in the unexplored woods.

' Maybe you shouldn't relax...' - the voice said -' Maybe the woods are not safe at all...'

Harry suppressed a shiver running down his spine.
Whatever, possibly, scared the animals of the woods, possibly, couldn't be very small.
Maybe a fox or a wolf...

' What about all the deer and other big animals?' - the voice asked -' Could a wolf really scare all of them? Alone?'

Harry muttered a string of curses inside his head again. He felt himself starting to tremble in response to those thoughts.
And the thoughts were probably right. Nothing could possibly scare away the entire assembly of animals in those woods alone.
And if it did... It must've been a monster.

A low growl sounded from behind Harry.

Blood drew from Harry's face as he slowly turned to the direction the growl had come from.
His eyes were wide as he started to notice the enormous figure with black fur hiding in the shadows in the trees. It's eyes seemed like silvery blue glowing orbs and sometimes a hint of lilac would flash in them.

They were watching Harry and every move he made. The boy knew he had to get away from the figure... wolf... beast... whatever it was, Harry knew he had to get away from it.
And he had to get away from it now!

Harry slowly took a step back, keeping his eyes on the figure still hiding behind the trees. He wanted to make sure that he wouldn't do anything to make noise and possibly startle the animal.
He took a few more steps, carefully placing his feet nowhere near any lose and brittle twings lying on the floor. Harry was trembling worse than ever and his heart felt as it could burst at any moment.

He needed to calm down. Harry knew that panicking would do nothing good for him.
But it seemed like he was going to die at that very spot. He couldn't think of anything else other than getting out of there.
The boy started to step backwards a little more awkwardly due to his trembling.

His breathing was very rapid and his heart pounded in his ears. The figure seemed to be able to hear it aswell. It looked straight at Harry and slowly started to move towards the boy.
Harry realized that, when the figure walked out of the shadows, it's fur wasn't really black. Only a shade of very dark brown.
It's growls were growing louder and it started to bear it's teeth at him.

If that could even be called teeth... They looked more like talons of a really big eagle than teeth.
White and shiny teeth snarling at Harry, it's eyes were growing colder and seemed to start glowing with power as it got closer.

All caution aside and forgotten, Harry started to run as fast as he could away from the animal.
He ran and ran, swerving out of the way near trees and trying to get as much distance as he could from the figure hot on his heels.
It seemed to read Harry's movements with maximum ease and the boy realized that it probably knew it's way around the woods better than Harry did.

The boy was clearly in disadvantage with the terrain and the enviroment they were in. If he wanted to run from it, Harry needed to outsmart it And that was easy, right?
Being smarter than a animal wasn't all that difficult... He hoped.

The figure's growls were growing louder with impatience. It didn't seem to like chasing it's meal around a lot and the power in it's eyes was more menacing that before. It wasn't happy and Harry knew that it would rip him to shreds if it got it's long wicked claws on him.
Harry ran faster to try to reach the entry to the woods. But ultimatly failing after realizing that he was lost. He was growing tired and his legs were starting to hurt.

He could easily outrun his fat cousin and his gang but the figure chasing him didn't look like it was going to quit or stop because it was tired.
From over his shoulder Harry could see muscles visible even in it's fur. The figure was no slouch, the boy knew that for sure.
They kept running after one another. Not bothering to actually remember what way they were going.

And so, after a lot of running, Harry tripped on a loose branch and tumbled down a clearing. The same one they had inicially been in, ironically.
The figure wasted no time in sprinting towards Harry's fallen body and open it's mouth to bite him. It's claws ready to attack the young boy.
Harry's heart was pouding faster and faster, hurting his chest. It seemed as his whole world... His whole life was going to end that very moment.

But then Harry's mind grew calm and quiet. His eyes focused on top of the figure's head.
Hazy white letters made of smoke started to form on top of it's head.
First it was an L... then a I, followed by another L and another I... Then there was a T and finally there was an H.

-" Lilith... "- Harry said, his voice numb.

The figure stopped in it's tracks.

A wild array of colours started flashing in it's eyes. A string of light attached itself to the figure's arm and it fell to his stomach crying in pain.
Harry was about to say something to it, but his voice never came before he too was crying on the floor. Pain rushing from his arm to his chest and them moving onto the rest of his body.

In a flash of light he saw a woman.
A young woman smilling kindly at him. Her bright green eyes were just like Harry's, but her hair... Her hair was red. Straight medium length red hair.
He tried to reach for her but his body wouldn't move. And just as she had appeared, she was gone the next moment.

Harry tried to sit up but his whole body felt tremendously sore. He rolled to his side and saw that the figure was lying down beside him, breathing harshly with it's body completly limp.
Though it had just tried to attack him and it had been chasing him all over the woods trying to kill him, Harry couldn't help but feel worried for it.

-' It?' - Harry asked himself -' Wasn't it's name... Lilith?'

-' Yes... My name is Lilith...' - a small tired voice answered him -' Who are you...?'

-' Harry... Harry Potter." - Harry answered -" How can you talk inside my mind?'

-' I don't know...' - the voice answered -' It hurts...!'

Harry felt a sharp pain in his head. Harry recoiled back and clutched his head, a stabbing pain kept aching inside his head.
He wanted to cry out but no sound came out.

-' It hurts...' - Lilith sobbed -' It hurts...'

-" It's okay!" - Harry found himself saying -" I'm here!"

The pain stopped at once. Harry even felt himself lighter, as if some sort of weight had been lifted from him.
The dark figure was sitting up to and stared at Harry.

Harry almost flinched went to reached out to him but stopped when he saw it lift it's pinky.
The figure's eyes looked tired but at the same time they looked at Harry determinately.

-' Promise? '- Lilith's voice asked.

-" I promise. "- Harry responded aloud to the figure, locking his own pinky to the figure's.

A giggle echoed inside Harry's head, making a warm fluttering sensation spread inside his chest. The figure was also giving Harry an odd lopsided grin.
It seemed as if she didn't know how to smile very good and was trying her hardest just to stop the twitching of her tufted tail.
Without feeling any sort of fear towards the figure, Harry could now see it's true appearance thanks to the bright moonlight that entered the woods.

The figure looked a lot like a wolf. It almost looked identical to a normal one but there was this aura around it that made it seem like there was nothing normal about it. Not one bit.
The figure's fur was dark brown but Harry could make out some shades of red in it. And it's eyes were silvery blue, that was certain, but the lilac hue in them didn't seem to fade or leave her gaze.

-" Hey, Lilith... "- Harry began asking -" Can i ask you something?"

-' Sure. What is it? '- her voice asked.

-" What... Uh... Who are you? "- Harry asked with shaky words.

'She's going to be so mad at me...'- he thought.

-' No, i won't. '- Lilith answered -' And that's question is easy. My name is Lilith and i'm a werewolf.'

-" A werewolf?! "- Harry gasped -" A real one?"

-' How can there be false werewolves? '- Lilith genuinely asked.

-" Well... I don't know... "- Harry honestly answered -" It's just that... Werewolves are only part of silly make believe stories..."

-' Huh... What's a make believe story? '- Lilith asked. The figure tilted it's head at Harry.

-" You don't know about make believe stories? "- Harry asked confused -" They're the types of books you read at first grade or so."

-' Oh... What's first grade? '- Lilith asked again.

-" Your first year at grade school... After you've been at pre-school. "- Harry answered, getting a bit confused.

-' Oh. And what's school? '- she asked.

-" It's where you learn how to read and write. And a lot of other things to... "- Harry answered -" Have you never been to one?"

-' No. I've never left my forest. '- Lilith answered -' Well... atleast until i came here a few days ago...'

-" You're not from around her? "- Harry asked her -" Are you lost?"

-' No, i'm not lost. But yes, i'm not from around here. '- she answered.

-"Oh... Then what about your parents... -" Harry found himself asking, looking behind his back -" Are they around here?"

A chuckle was hear by Harry inside his head. She was finding his question amusing and the way he had looked over his shoulder at the woods behind him seemed to have caused her to start fighting off her laughter.

-" You can laugh all you want... "- Harry said.

Big mistake. Lilith probably didn't sense, or couldn't recognize, his sarcasm in that comment and started laughing heartly. Rolling her back on the grassy and dirty floor. Her tail wagging madly with amusement.
Harry didn't want to laugh but it seemed it was contagious. The warm feeling inside his was tickling him and soon Harry was laughing too. He couldn't remember having laughed at something he did or said without it being a nervous or unwanted laugh.

-' But you... You don't have to worry, really... '- Lilith said when the two of the calmed down -' I don't have any.'

-" You don't have any parents? "- Harry asked, sitting upright in a second -" Aren't you bothered by that?"

The figure sat up too and looked at Harry with questionable eyes.

-' Huh... No... I don't really remember much about who i am or who i was... '- she said -' Before i entered the forest...'

-" And why didn't you ever leave the forest to find out? "- Harry asked her.

-' Well, i thought about it but... There was this voice that kept telling me that it was safer inside the forest and away from everything else...'- Lilith answered.

-" So you never once left the forest and then suddenly you just come into this woods? "- Harry asked -" How does that work?"

-' I don't know... I just... '- Lilith tried to answered.

-" You what? "- Harry asked.

-' I blanked out... '- She told him -' When i regained conscience i was here. My feet hurt so i was sure i must've ran all the way to this place.'

-" Maybe you were running away from something... "- Harry said to her -" Maybe you were scared?"

-' Don't know... '- Lilith asked truthfully.

-" Then, you can't remember anything about you? "- Harry asked interested.

-' Yes and no. '- she answered -' I can remember most things since i was five and was waking up inside the forest but nothing before of that.'

-" How do you know you were five? "- Harry asked.

-' Don't know... Maybe a gut feeling? '- Lilith asked Harry with her lopsided grin.

-" Yeah, maybe... "- Harry chuckled.

-' But what are you doing here? '- Lilith then asked him -' It's not safe her at night.'

-" You're telling me that? "- Harry asked with a sideways glance at her -" Of all people?"

-' Point taken. '- she said. The figure shrugging it's shoulder's.

-" Hey, Lilith... "- Harry began -" Are you always like this? "- Harry asked looking at the large figure in front of him.

-' No, i'm not. '- she answered -' Just during full moons.'

-" So won't be like this tomorrow? "- he asked her.

-' Nope. I'll be a full fledge human kid like you. '- she told Harry. The figure grinned.

-" A fully fledge five year old? "- Harry asked.

-' No, a fully fledge nine year old. '- she told him.

-" You're nine too? "- Harry asked in awe -" When is your birthday?"

-' Tenth of August...'- she answered -' I like that date, even if it isn't my real birthday.'

-" How did you picked it? "- Harry asked.

-' Don't know... '- she said -' I just woke up that day and said it was my birthday.'

-" You're weird... "- Harry said.

When he realized what he had said, Harry felt a chill run down his body.
How could he have said that? After all he had been through? He wanted to kick himself for saying that to her!
How could he have even dare to say that to someone just like...

Just like him...

-' You okay, Harry? '- Lilith asked him, gently.

-" Yeah... I'm sorry... "- Harry muttered.

-' You sure? You seem to be feeling rather down... '- Lilith said.

-" How do you know? "- he asked her, looking at her slowly.

The figure blinked at him and started to move it's hand towards it chest.
Above it's heart.

-' Here. '- she said.

Harry focused his gaze at the spot the figure had pointed at. There was a patch of jet black fur above it's heart.
It seemed that it didn't belong there at all and Harry even tried to make out the pattern that the fur had but it was too dark to see it properly.

-' Hey, do you want to me to show you around the woods? '- Lilith asked Harry.

-" What? "- Harry asked, looking at her like she grew a second head.

-' I mean... Since you're here and all... Might aswell show you around a bit... right? '- Lilith stammered.

-" Why? "- Harry asked her.

-' I... I... I thought people usually showed their house to their friends... '- Lilith muttered with the figure's head down -' Sorry if i'm wrong.'

Harry wanted to kick himself again. His response must've sounded pretty harsh to the girl. And in all his self cursing he barely remembered that Lilith had called him his friend.

-" You want to be friends with me? "- Harry asked surprised -" Aren't you scared of me?"

The figure just eyed him confused.

-' Why would I be scared of you if you are not afraid of me? '- she asked him in a matter-of-fact type of tone.

-" Oh... You're right. "- Harry sheepishly said, but then it hit him -" Then you can really be my friend?"

-' Yeah. Can you be mine? '- Lilith eagerly asked.

-" Yeah! "- Harry answered.

-' Wow... '- Lilith said.

-" You're my... "- Harry continued.

-' Very first... '- Lilith said.

-" Friend ever! "- Harry finished.

The boy and the werewolf stared at each other before bursting out laughing. Tears of joy, or from laughing too hard, appeared in their eyes as they rolled around in the woodland's floor.

-" You know what, Lilith? "- Harry said -" I happily accept your offer to show me around."

-' Really? '- she asked, the figure sitting up.

-" Yeah. "- Harry answered -" If it's not too much of an hassle..."

-' It's nothing! '- Lilith said as the figure jumped up -' Get on my back.'

-" I can't! You're going to be hurt! "- Harry told her, shocked.

-' Harry Potter... You take my form much too lightly. '- Lilith mockingly told him -' I could carry a bull on my shoulder's if i wanted to...'

The boy didn't say anything else as he scrambled to climb on top of the figure's back.
It wasn't very unconfortable but Harry was trembling in fear of being too heavy for her.

-' Hold on thight. '- She warned -' But, it's best if you keep your hands off my eyes... You don't want to be planted against a tree, do you?'

-" No and that's not very reasuring, Lilith... "- Harry retorted to her.

-' No, but it makes the ride so much more fun! '- Lilith grinned.

-" You have a very strange sense of humor... "- he told her.

-' Oh, you haven't seen anything yet... '- she answered with a tone that made Harry grab onto her fur tighter.

In years to come, Harry would know that that particular tone meant trouble. Good and fun trouble but nontheless big trouble.
Like broken windows trouble and almost being expelled from school trouble...

The figure seemed to be standing still calculating something in it's head.

' A route of the woods, most likely... '- Harry thought to himself.

-" Hey, Lilith... "- Harry asked -" What are you..."

He couldn't finish his sentence as Lilith sprinted to the deep parts of the woods. At a very, very fast speed.

They had been to every corner of the woods, with Lilith pausing just for a few moments to explain to Harry where they were and what she usually did there.
At first Harry was thankful for this stops so he could catch his breath but also to rearrange his hold on the figure's back.
But soon enough the wind whistling past them in Harry's ears of the scents of the woods filtring through his nose made him feel very... well... alive.

It almost seemed like it was Harry's second nature. Sprinting though things at a very high speed. The nighttime sky above them, covered in thousands of sparkly stars, was growing ever more dark.
After about an hour or two of strolling at a very fast pace through the woods Lilith finally came to a stop.

-' This is my favorite place. '- she told Harry as she walked closer to a tall dark tree.

-" Wow, it's so tall! "- Harry said.

-' Yeah. It's my favorite type of tree too. '- she told him happily.

-" What is it? "- Harry asked.

-' It's an Ash tree. '- she answered -' You know... The Ash tree is considered the tree of life...'

-" It is? "- Harry asked Lilith, slowly getting of her back.

-' Yeah, and that it's winged seeds were called Keys. '- Lilith told Harry -' That's because they thought they were the keys to univeral understanding. '- she explained.

-" That's wicked... "- Harry commented.

-' Yeah... '- Lilith agreed.

The two of them laid down near the Ash tree and looked at the sky above.
The moon was so wide, white light filtered the woods. Painting the deep green colours of nature with silver shades. Their eyes were growing heavier, the cold air flowing around them.

He looked at the sky and then at the figure nestling beside him.
Harry hoped this wasn't just a dream and that he would wake up in his cupboard like nothing had happened.
The boy felt happy just by meeting the figure... The werewolf that Lilith was.

-' If you're cold you can just come closer to my fur. '- Lilith offered, certainly reading Harry's mind.

-" Thanks. You're an angel. "- Harry told her.

-' I'm not an angel... I'm the complete opposite of one. '- Lilith told Harry -' Besides angels have wings don't they?'

Harry bit by a retort and simply rolled his eyes. He moved closer to the figure's fur and slumped down into a calm and long deserved goodnights' sleep.

Unfortunely, since Lilith wasn't used to talk or interact with other people, she forgot to mention that her condition usually didn't care much about clothes. If she had mentioned it to Harry, it would have probably saved the boy a shock from waking up back to back with a naked girl.
And it would have also saved the whole woods day habitants from a very nasty wake up call in the form of a scream.

A/N: So what do you think about the new changes? Reviews are always welcomed!