The forests were dark, the trees dense with barely any light filtering through. Hermione raised her wand a little higher, the searching beam of light forming an arc as she tried to find which way the three headed pup had gone.
That was when she heard the first howl, lonesome but clear even in the distance. Every human instinct fired up and she simply knew that she had just heard a predators cry and she was the intended prey. A part of her wanted to run while another insisted on hiding.
But whatever was after her already knew she was there and maybe, just maybe she would get lucky and find her way out? The second howl had her running through the forest, the uneven ground below her slowing her down and allowing it to gain distance.
Thirty feet before she veered left and into what looked like a used path, another twenty and she changed direction again because the trees were thinning, ten more and the howl was closer than before. Would it chase her out of the forest?
Hermione could feel the burn in her chest from the lack of air and she stumbled on a root sticking out of the ground, her free hand instantly shooting out to steady herself against the trunk of the tree. And she couldn't have done it a second sooner because the clearing she had been running to was apparently where the forest cut deeper, a slope of about thirty feet sliding down.
She directed her wand light down, right to the bottom of the slope and could barely make anything out. She had no idea if she was even judging the distance correctly and though there was no sound of anything following her, she still had to run.
Maybe there was another way? If she could go back a few yards, there could be a way to avoid the descent - or not. She heard the howl clearly this time and it was coming from her right. Careful to not fall, Hermione whirled around, her wand already in the air.
She had been expecting it to show up, knew the direction it was coming from and still when it shot out from between the trees, she staggered back. The speed and the sheer ferocity making her muscles lock down in fear.
She didn't even try to aim at the animal and instead shot out the most powerful curse she could think of at the base of the nearest tree. The streak of light caught the animal's attention for a brief moment before it leapt out of the way of the falling tree, just as Hermione backed right off the edge of the slope.
She felt her uniform tear and her skin along with it, the ground harsh and damp as she rolled through it. Crashing into a broken down rock, Hermione staggered back to her feet, her wand still clutched tightly and her eyes roaming higher up in search of the monster.
She heard the sound of something approaching this time and trying to see better, backed away a little more, lighting up her wand again as she went. A stag burst through the same trees as the creature, which was at the moment missing from her line of sight.
Now more worried, she stumbled backwards faster, only to trip over what looked like an old piece of log and fall back to the soil. From her new position on the ground, she could see the full moon through the leaves and the realisation made her heart clench.
Digging her elbows into the ground and pulling herself backwards, she raised her wand again, this time directly at the werewolf standing at the edge of the slope, looking at her.
That made it ever harder as she tried to think. One shot. She had exactly one shot at best. But what curse was supposed to work against a werewolf? She didn't remember any of her books saying anything about fighting one.
She heard a growl next and her heart thundered against her chest. It had company. Almost too afraid to look away from it but wanting to check anyway, she let her eyes slide to where the sound had come from. She traced the outline of a large dog that looked almost exactly like -
Suddenly Hermione gasped, this time turning to take in the whole scene. The wolf was standing at the head, ready to charge and on either side were a stag and a dog. Sirius. James. And that was…
"Remus?" She breathed in realisation.
Everything happened too fast after that. The wolf leapt towards her just as the dog leapt directly at it. She wanted to cry out as the two rolled down the slope, snarling and clawing at each other. But the dog didn't stand a chance and within seconds it was thrown away into the nearest tree.
The wolf barely had time to get back on its feet though because a stag was charging at it, antlered head bowed, ready to strike. She watched the feral creature bound out of the way of the stag only to place itself perfectly for the dog to pin it down.
She was fascinated. She was terrified. She wanted to run. She couldn't move. But something was moving. And it was right on top of her.
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Last time James had encountered a werewolf starved for human prey, it had been locked in the shrieking shack and the said human could be taken out far enough away and the door sealed again in time to trap the wolf inside.
This time, there was nothing to do. They could fight the wolf. They could pin it down again and again but it was still in the open and one slip was all it would take to lose everything. There was also no telling how deep inside the forest they were but there was no getting Hermione out. Not even if Peter managed to show her the way.
He could see Wormtail had gone to Hermione, he could see her finally stagger to her feet again and start running, but he couldn't focus on her. Not when Sirius was being flung to the side again, leaving it up to him to tackle the wolf.
The scent of human blood lingered in the air, Hermione's injuries making it easier to smell her. That was only Padfoot's senses though, goodness knew how profound it must be to Moony. Judging by the increasingly feral attacks on them, it was bad.
As were their chances. They all knew they were only buying time. But for whatever it was worth, he could buy a little more.
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Peter was a rat. Peter was the rat that she had tried to follow. But she had no idea where he had gone. He had just...disappeared. Heart still thundering in her ears, she ran blindly through the trees, still trying to listen to any sounds coming from the Marauders.
A part of her mind was in denial. Remus, sweet, kind, friendly Remus was the werewolf that had just tried to kill her. There was no denying it either though because even as she ran, the pieces were starting to fall into place in her mind.
This was why Sirius and James were animagus. And Peter too. She hadn't known that either. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs. Oh dear god, it was so obvious. All of it. She should have known. She should have figured it out and stayed the hell out of the forest. And what were the odds of her coming here on a full moon night anyway?
That hardly mattered, because a werewolf wasn't the only thing after her that night. She could hear the sound of something else approaching from the other end and this time, with nowhere else to go, she froze entirely.
Raising her wand at what burst through the trees this time was wasted effort though, because the centaur came to a direct stop a few feet away from her. It - he - was studying her and Hermione did nothing to lower her wand. She had no idea if she should.
"What is your name youngling?" He asked.
That made the dread in her chest lighten a bit. Maybe not all things were out to kill her.
"Hermione. Hermione Granger" She answered in a shaky voice.
"Come with me Miss. Granger. You must leave the forest" The Centaur said, finally making her drop her wand arm.
She wasn't sure if she could go along of course but what else was she to do? She still wasn't very far from the Marauders and she knew that if the wolf got past Sirius and James, she didn't have a chance. Hesitantly, she took the offered help.
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Prongs was losing. There was simply no way to hold the wolf down. Stags weren't meant to do that. Bear sized dogs were more capable of such things. But Padfoot had bounded away in the opposite direction a couple of minutes ago and he could only hope that he knew what he was doing.
He crashed to the ground, the wolf leaping right on top of him and looking ready to rip him to pieces when the howl sounded. Sirius had transformed back. He was calling to the wolf. And it was definitely working. Moony was distracted, better still, he was falling for it.
Had he had the luxury, James would have stayed on the ground, sighing with relief. But he still had a job to do. If Sirius was trying to lure Moony back into the shack, he'd need more distractions and with Wormtail gone, the job was back on James.
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The cold air rushing past them stung, making Hermione squeeze her eyes shut as the Centaur ran through the forests and she couldn't bring herself to open them again until they slowed down.
"Firenze! What are you doing?" A voice demanded and a startled Hermione dared to look again.
There, standing in a half circle, blocking their path were a half a dozen other Centaurs. All of them looking anything but pleased.
"Do you not realise who this child is?" The Centaur she was on, Firenze questioned. That of course instantly had her attention.
"It is precisely because I realise that I ask you what you are doing. We are sworn to never set ourselves against the stars and-" The other Centaur was saying when Firenze cut across.
"Have you not seen the stars? They can tell us nothing till the three turns are finished" He growled
"And they would have finished tonight if you had not stepped in the way" The larger Centaur thundered.
"Is that how you wish it to end? The ambiguity we detect-" Firenze began again when a third Centaur intervened.
"Bane, Firenze. That will do. Remember we have company. It is not our concern when or how this ends and we shall not interfere. The girl can find her way back alone, the werewolf will not find her again tonight." He ordered.
When Firenze did not speak, Hermione supposed it was her cue to get down. But she wasn't ready to let go yet. She needed to know what they were speaking of.
"I'm sorry, but when you say you realise who I am, what do you mean?" She questioned.
"Head North child and you will see the castle lights" The same Centaur spoke, before they began to retreat.
"Come Firenze" Bane called even as they left and Hermione found herself getting down despite herself.
"Please. You have to tell me something. I don't remember anything and I need to know." Hermione pleaded
"Take care Hermione Granger" Firenze answered, wrapping his arms around her in farewell before whispering a single sentence in her ear.