A/N: Hello! I am so excited to see that my story has already received follows and favorites and I am grateful for every single one of you for doing so. I hope to continue to please my readers with this story. You guys are amazing! Hope you all had a safe Halloween and are currently devouring your candy as we speak. Anyways without any further delay here is chapter 3.
-Endlessvyn
….
I spent the rest of the day in bed, I could hear students outside the infirmary doors passing to their next class. A few students had come in with minor cuts and bruises, unfortunately one boy was hexed with boils. Poor thing.
Not many took notice of the far end bed where I reside which is a relief. Listening to Madame Pomfrey address the kids was so calming. I felt safe, I was home.
The pain in my leg however seemed to ruin all of that. I had yet to look under the covers in fear of what I will see. Curiosity began to sink in but something is holding me back. Maybe I'm in denial? Desperately trying to believe that what happened wasn't real; It was a nightmare. A very real nightmare.
"Ms. Bennett." A stern voice brought me back to the real world.
I looked up to see a man, black hair, hooked nose, and the darkest eyes I have ever seen. His stare alone made me feel uneasy.
"Y-yes. How can I help you?" I asked.
"Well I am actually here to aid you Ms. Bennett. I was made aware of your situation and am here to prevent any further damage to your current state." He spoke to me with such disdain.
"I'm sorry?" I asked agitated.
"You were dumb enough to put yourself in the dark forest at the wrong time. I suggest next time you choose to do something foolish, you remember this." He snarled.
"I apologize for being such trouble to a man with little to no respect for others." I growled.
"Excuse me?" He spat.
"To help someone shouldn't be a chore! I was left in the dark forest! A beast ripped into MY leg and brought me to the brink of death! If you feel that I am such a burden please take yourself elsewhere. I didn't ask to be attacked. I didn't ask to be here!" I couldn't control my temper, I wanted to rip that smug look off his face.
"What in the devil is going on here?!" Madame Pomfrey came to my side holding my shoulders as they shook beneath her palms.
"Severus, what happened?" She scolded him like a mother.
'He deserves to be scolded or worse.' I thought.
"It seems as if I am not needed after all." He was glaring at me and I him.
"Leave! You miserable excuse of a man!" I yelled as tears cascaded down my face.
For a moment his glare faded. Almost as if he was sorry for what he had done. I doubt it. No person could be this foul and have a conscience. Severus turned on his heels and left, his cloak billowing behind him.
"Easy dear, easy." Madame Pomfrey was sitting on the bed now stroking my hair. I leaned onto her shoulder and cried.
…
"What an insufferable brat!" He slammed his hand onto his desk.
'This is what I get for trying to help!' He thought.
He was seeing red all the way back to his quarters; Merlin help any student who got in his way.
Two knocks on his door kept him from cursing any further.
"What is it?" He called.
"It's Minerva, Albus wants to speak with you immediately."
…..
"Severus, you've gravely upset this poor woman." Albus spoke.
"She was ungrateful." He mumbled.
"Ungrateful?" Albus questioned.
"She told me to leave!" Severus explained.
"After you made the girl feel like a burden to this school!" Minerva said jutting in.
"Severus, Minerva, that is enough." Albus demanded.
Both fell silent.
"Severus, you will apologize to Ms. Bennett. Provide her with what she needs and return to your quarters." Albus did not look up at them as he spoke.
"Minerva, you will be in charge of providing a room for Ms. Bennett." Minerva nodded in agreement and left.
Severus was no longer just seeing red, he was red from the inside out.
….
Night had fallen.
Pomfrey had left some time ago and I was unable to sleep. Something was wrong.
'Why do I feel this way? This pull in my chest.' My mind was racing. This sudden urge of panic was raging through my entire being.
Something is very wrong. My body doesn't feel right.
I know I'm hurt but this...this is something else.
The pain resided in my leg, but then with every passing second it radiated to every single nerve in my body.
It felt as if I was being pounded by waves of fire and rocks; Eating away at my muscles and bones. Searing the skin clean off.
Make it stop.
A howl echoed into the night outside the windows. All the blood drained from me, that awful sound. It is coming for me. It wants to finish the job.
"No!" I yelled out.
Tossing myself onto the floor in a feeble attempt to hide. My bones began to pop and crack, are they breaking on their own?!
My body is ripping itself apart!
"Help me!" I begged but it only came out as a whimper.
The darkness of the infirmary only made everything worse. I noticed everything warping, the walls, the stone beneath me, and...my hands?
Are they changing?
My nails began to grow longer, sharper, my pale skin now turning grey. My head was throbbing but my eyesight was changing I could see clearer. The darkness became light. My sense of smell...heightened.
Blood was falling onto the floor.
The wound.
The Blood.
"Hungry." I growled.
….
Severus burst through the infirmary with his potions at his side. Not bothering to care if he had woken the blasted girl.
Severus immediately noticed the privacy barrier around her cot contained several slash marks through the fabric.
He stormed forward stepping into something wet.
"What the hell?" He looked down and immediately recognized a pool of blood and pieces of clothing soaked in it.
"Lumos!" His wand lit up the infirmary, the trail of blood leading out the infirmary.
The halls were empty and the blood had vanished from the floor, leaving no clue as to where she might be.
Casting a silent spell, he summoned Albus. The students were in danger. She was in danger.
He stormed towards the Great Hall in hopes she may have traveled there. As he rounded the corner of the hall, a howl had echoed throughout the school
Werewolf.
It was close. The beast had found a way onto the grounds.
'No beast would wander this far. Unless...,' Severus could not move fast enough.
He took off in a sprint down the hall. Fear edging in the back of his mind.
'Where are you?' He called into the depths of his mind.
His sprinting came to a halt as the werewolf revealed itself; The beast merely a few meters away obviously disoriented and angry. It was much smaller, possibly a juvenile.
He dare not move. His body had become as heavy as the stone he walked upon.
It began to sniff at the air, its head turning in the direction of where he stood. Its eyes zoned in on him.
It stood up on its hind legs and roared, causing Severus to take a step back.
Terrible mistake.
It launched itself forward, jaws ready to rip into the gangling man before it.
One moment Severus saw his life ending but the werewolf had been thrown to the side. A spell had cast its fury. The force of the blow alone had rammed the beast into an unforgiving wall; Knocking the beast out cold.
Albus stood across the way, his face full of regret. He lowered his wand.
"Severus," Albus called out to him.
"I know," he replied.
