Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction created sorely to satisfy my imagination. Harry Potter and anything/everything related to the novels belongs to J.K. Rowling. I own nothing in this fanfic that might be recognizable as belonging to the canon of HP.
AN: Short, simple and late. I don't like how this chapter turned out, but the plot must go on and I can't fall behind.
Also, I would like to give an ecstatic thank you to all the lovely people that have commented, favorite and followed this story. You guys make my day, and inspire me to write more and faster. I've got a crazy and long story planned out that I hope to finish with all of you. I hope I won't take too long writing it. XD
Chapter 14: December run
The thought that I could in 'theory' turn into an animagus crossed my mind as I sat with the pack, but I quickly forgot it with one glace at the moon.
That I had a new ability and that it could answer questions that in my day to day I tried to ignore, didn't seemed to face much. Then again, nothing faced me when I was on the hold of Lady Moon. All was alright, nothing mattered, and if I wanted to know the true identities of the animals that met me in the Forbidden Forest for a monthly run, then I would just have to wait for the matter to settle itself.
In the etherealness I felt on every pore of my body, not one thing mattered beyond just existing. Just being there to feel good, and enjoy myself with the company of the pack.
"I've see your eyes somewhere else." I said in a voice that didn't sound like my own to the dog as I held its face between my hands.
The rat sat up top my crossed legs. Both the werewolf and the stag were next to me, curled up as we rested. They were peaceful in the silence my strange voice interrupted; tired by the running we had done for hours. I had not voiced out that I knew what they were, for I was sure that should I do it, they would understand me perfectly.
"Beautiful gray eyes." I whispered to myself as I pet the dogs shinny black fur.
It was snowing, it had been for days, but at the moment I could not feel the harsh cold.
The pack, meeting me in the forest under the spell of the moon and running all night, had led me to a place I had never seen before. They had beckoned me, barked, grunted and bellowed to follow them away from our normal paths in the Forbidden Forest.
I glided after them, losing myself in the run, ecstatic over the feel of the wet blanket of snow beneath my feet.
It didn't take long for my eyes to look beyond the edge of trees, to see what we came upon. It was a desolated plain with one building in its center. The light of the moon only allowed me to see shadows, but it was enough for me to know it was a house. Somehow, I knew that it was empty; the same way I knew it was the pack's den.
Maybe it was the knowledge that in a couple of short hours the moon would lose its effect on me, but as the pack pushed me toward the house, I pushed my feet steadily onto the ground. I cannot explain it, as normally I cannot explain what takes over me during that one night of the month, the reason as to why I, for the first time, did not want to follow my animagus friends into the decrepit house. It was a strange feeling; the one to stay rooted to the spot and not take another step forward.
So, I let myself down on the ground, and resisted the three protesting creatures. Brushing against my arms, and butting me with their snouts, they urged me to move, fighting against my stubbornness. However, I was not to move. I looked up to the moon, letting her rays wash over me as I ignored them. They stopped as soon as I beckoned the werewolf to sit with me. It did not waste time; it did not ask anything more of me, as the other were now doing. When the werewolf had gotten comfortable next to me, the other three could do nothing.
We had sat there for I do not care how long, and nothing had happened until the dog near me to demand my attention. I gave it, delighted. However, now the spell of the full moon was ending, and she was losing her hold on me as I let go of the dog's head. It looked at me expectantly, but whatever was the expression I gave it back, I do not know.
It seemed as if the werewolf and I were connected, and at the very same moment, Lady Moon let go of us. When I let go of the dog, the werewolf awoke, standing to scamper away. The stag followed.
Watching it go, it went to the direction of the decrepit house. Soon in the distance, I could see the werewolf entering it. The stag was half way there, but it had stopped to look back at me. The dog and the rat had stayed with me, perking their furry ears at the direction of their calling friend. Their lingering presence was becoming too heavy.
That was for me, the moment to leave them, before I felt too much like my normal self, before the animals had time to react and stop me.