We would sit down, and think which way
To walk, and pass our long love's day.
---
A gasp strangled itself in my throat as I stared at the beast. It had simply…appeared in front of me! My heart pounded and my eyes stretched wide in fear.
The great cat in front of me was huge. It was nearly as tall as I was, and it stared directly at me. It looked like a lion, but with stripes. I blinked, then cursed myself. It would come after me.
This was worse then the acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest. They had spoken – could be reasoned with. This was a beast. Its eyes were inhuman – completely.
And it smelled, even from the few hundred yard distance that I was at.
It was...primal.
I heard Malfoy continue to stomp away and curse in the distance. Slowly, the cat's eyes left me and swiveled in Malfoy's direction.
So typical. Malfoy would bring me here, to this gods forsaken place, and then the creature would kill us.
The cat bounded away, suddenly startling me into a gasp. My heart pounded harder, but the cat didn't seem to have heard me. With a sinuous leap it was gone – as soundlessly as it had come.
My heart pounded feverishly in my chest, and I prayed for it to stop. I stood frozen, still recovering from the sheer shock of the apparition. Slowly I began to breathe easier.
It was gone. SHIT, my mind suddenly screamed. It had gone after Malfoy.
Not really thinking, I turned and sprinted in the direction that Malfoy had gone. I couldn't believe that I was going to go try and save him.
I couldn't hear him anymore, so I simply ran in the direction that I remembered, my heart beating more slowly. I wasn't simply standing in fear and shock. Now I was doing something.
A grin split my face. I felt a lot less hopeless for the first time since I had awoken here.
The sharp leaves of trees slapped at my face, and I was grateful to my glasses for protecting my eyes. I bobbed and weaved, feeling a thrill inside, something like quidditch, and suddenly caught sight of the cat.
My thrill drained away and I slammed to a halt, nearly falling.
There was Malfoy, walking more quietly now, but still angry. He was stiff and refusing to look around him. If he had, he might have seen the great cat stalking him, just barely visible behind the trees.
I slipped forward quietly, cursing Malfoy for walking quickly and for generally making my life harder. That bastard couldn't have done the sensible thing if he tried.
If he was telling the truth and didn't know what the hell had happened and why we were here, then he shouldn't have walked away from me. What a fool.
I finally managed to reach Malfoy. As I did so I realized that the creature had most likely begun stalking me as well. His hair shone in the moonlight. He was cursing under his breath.
When he saw me he jerked to a halt and sneered. "I though I told you, Potter—" he began loudly.
I practically leapt on him as I grabbed his arm and dragged him after me, weaving through the trees.
Malfoy snarled, "What do you think you're doing?"
"There's something after us."
He was sneering at me – I could tell from his tone of voice. "I seriously, doubt that, Potter. I haven't seen anything in—"
"What, the whole five minutes that you've been wandering around here?" I countered. "Face it, Malfoy. You've no better idea about this whole situation that I have."
Malfoy tried to jerk to a stop, pulling me off balance. I stumbled and turned to look at him. He looked horrible – paler than usual with dirt smeared over his cheekbone. I knew for sure, with a chilling certainty, that he was as tuck as I was.
I dropped my voice a whisper and tried to be patient. "There is a giant cat stalking us."
I turned and started walking again, and Malfoy came with me. "What, can't charm it with your 'magical creature prowess'?" It took a moment for me to realize that he was referring to our third year, and Buckbeak. I just shook my head and hissed with frustration.
I walked faster. "Do you know any way to get it off our scent, or something?" I bit out the sentence. Hagrid had not taught us anything about stopping dangerous creatures from tracking us. Now that I though of it, it seemed like a terrible oversight.
Malfoy didn't say a word.
Suddenly we broke out into a clearing. I froze and Malfoy ran into me. I the middle of the clearing was a herd of enormous deer, taller than us both.
Fuck. Did everything in this shithole have to be larger than life?
The deer didn't run as I had expected them to, but simply stared at me, chewing lazily. Thinking quickly, I waked slowly to the side, dragged Malfoy into the nearly bushes, and crouched down.
He tried to pull away. "Are you mad? If it's after us, hiding won't—" He froze at the cat came into sight.
It was moving quickly, but slowed almost to a stop when it saw the clearing and the deer. I began to move forward with painful slowness, shoulder blades high and smooth. I glanced at the deer – they had frozen completely.
Suddenly the deer broke and fled, streaming away through the trees. The cat snarled – almost a roar, really – and bounded after them. And it was gone.
My breath started again and I turned to look at Malfoy. His lips were set in a thin line and his eyes creased with pain. "What?" I asked him. If he had been hurt – if he was bleeding – it would probably bring every great beast for miles after us and we would never get home, we would die.
But Malfoy simply glanced down at his arm and I saw that my grip had tightened so much to be hurtful. I pried my fingers away and flexed them.
Malfoy stood up, and I followed a moment later. I half expected him to yell at me – tell me that this was all my fault. I watched him warily. He stood, there, quiet. So shaken and strange looking in this cold night.
I moved restlessly, scanning the clearing for movement. "Potter, where are we?" he asked. I turned to look at Malfoy but he didn't seem to want to meet my eyes.
I stared around, at the dark and broad leaves, the giant glowing moon, and the great prints mashed into verdant earth.
