May 13th, 1976

Nothing had gone according to plan.

Snape had managed to escape her surveillance long enough to run to the Whomping Willow, where she had found him right before he had entered the tunnel hidden between the massive roots of the tree. By the time they had reached the Shrieking Shack, someone Hermione suspected to be Remus was already screaming in pain and transforming into a werewolf. Then, as Black had tried to get them out, Snape had decided he needed to stay so he could bring some proof back to the castle. It had taken Black turning into a dog and pulling him by the teeth down the tunnel for him to get out.

Then they had started running. Hermione had pulled her housemate straight to the Forbidden Forest. Helped by the animagi, they had found a place to hide, then ran again when the wolf found them before hiding again, and so on and so forth.

"The castle is the other way!" protested Snape.

"He'll catch us in no time if we go this way," answered Hermione without losing her grip on his arm. "We'll have more chances of escaping in the forest."

"He'll smell us either way!"

Despite his complaints, Snape kept running, very aware of the sounds the werewolf made as he ran in their direction. It seemed they had already been in the forest for hours, the dull sounds of the wolf's paws running on the ground often interrupted by grunts, barks and sounds of bodies banging into each other and trees nearby. Hermione didn't look back, too scared her curiosity would get her to slow down and get caught. Soon enough though, it became clear they wouldn't be able to outrun him, no matter how much the animagi tried to stop him. Her lungs were on fire, and the sounds Snape made left no doubts on his state.

She took a turn to hide behind a large tree, Snape slamming into her as she pulled him in her direction.

" Inolens ," whispered Hermione with a flick of her wand. "That should be enough for now."

"What do you think─"

Her hand was on his mouth in a matter of seconds, blocking the sound of his voice in his throat.

"We can't outrun him, we obviously can't hide for long either if he can follow our scents."

The forest around them was unnaturally silent. If it was unnerving, it had the advantage of giving them a chance to hear precisely how far the wolf was. The sound of his paws against the floor approached, slowing down as the smells he was following disappeared. Lighter sounds of steps resonated farther behind him, indicating they had been joined by at least two animals Hermione assumed to be the animagi.

As the wolf searched the area, a stag walked right in front of them, catching the sight of them by the corner of his eye but showing nothing. Behind their tree, the wolf was still shuffling in bushes.

"Moony! Over there! Come here you big fat dog! I'm human! Come and try to get me!"

Potter's voice suddenly rose from afar, in the direction opposite to the castle. Hermione only allowed herself to breathe when a low growl resonated, followed by the sound of the wolf running in the direction of his friend's voice.

As Hermione and Snape started running again, Black in his dog's form joined them, showing them the way and encouraging them with grunts to keep going. The three of them were almost at the edge of the forest when a snarl came from right behind them. Making the mistake of turning around, Hermione found herself faced with the vision of the large werewolf running towards them.

Behind her, Snape and the dog were still running, yet she felt unable to move, her limbs refusing to respond as her gaze met the wolf's. The latter was getting closer, and it seemed to Hermione he was lighter on his feet, and therefore faster, now that the hunt was over and its prey was at its mercy.

"Lestrange!"

The wolf jumped.

A sharp pain erupted in Hermione's leg, which registered in her brain at the same time as the feeling of the muddy ground underneath her body. Using her forearms, she rose to a seated position, from which she tried to retreat until her back hit a tree.

From her new position, it was easy to see the stag using his antlers to trap Remus against a tree whilst the dog who had pushed her out of the werewolf's way bit his leg to make him lose his balance. Further away, Snape was taking in the scene, seemingly not knowing what to do.

"Run, you dumbass!" Hermione screamed at him. "What are you doing? Go back to the castle!"

If the sound of her voice broke Snape's trance, it also seemed to have an effect on the werewolf who barked loudly and fought against the stag's antlers with more intenseness.

Snape wouldn't have time to go to Dumbledore before it was too late, she knew. The protuberance under the skin of her leg was enough for her to know the rocks she had fallen against had broken her bone. If she couldn't run, it was only a matter of minutes before the wolf reached her. Maybe less.

That was it. She was sixteen and she was about to die.

Strangely enough, her comfort came from a rat who had made its ways between her legs and seemed to be inspecting her injury. It almost made her laugh, to see such an anxious expression on a small rat.

"Which one of them are you, then?"

The rat squeaked as she took him in her hands and brought him up so they could face each other.

"You're either Potter or Pettegrew. Potter? Alright, don't make so much noise. I get it, you're Pettegrew."

She left out a laugh at that, a tad hysterical.

"Just so you know, I'll come back to haunt the four of you. Maybe Snape, too. No, definitely Snape. We wouldn't be here if he had just listened to me."

It was oddly soothing to talk like that. It made things more mundane, less final. Her rant was quickly interrupted by the sound of a large body crashing against the forest ground. Her reflexes told her to protect whoever could be, and so she wasted no time in hiding Pettigrew between her body and the tree behind her back.

The werewolf was approaching, the dog pulling at his back leg discarded with a powerful quick in the snout. From up close, he seemed even bigger than when she had seen him earlier. More muscular. Deadlier. A large gash was visible on his shoulder, and his sandy-blonde fur did nothing to hide smaller scars across his legs and chest.

How unfair, for the creature who was about to kill her to be so beautiful. Life was already unfair, killers had no business being pretty.

"Wolves go for the neck," she whispered to herself. "They don't waste time, they just go for the kill. It'll be quick."

Sure enough, as soon as he was close enough to tower over her, his head dropped to access her neck. But instead of the feeling of his fangs she had been expecting, all she felt was his cold snout pressing against the junction of her neck and her shoulder. Fear had her petrified, too scared to even breathe, which seemed to suit the werewolf just fine as he took her smell in and inspected every bit of skin visible above the collar of her shirt.

Her brain only seemed to start functioning again when something wet ran across her cheek, prompting her to get as far away as possible from the creature's tongue. This only resulted in her head banging against the tree behind her and the wolf growling at the loss of contact, which petrified her all over again.

"I'm sorry," she murmured as the wolf kept growling her way. "I'll stop moving."

Seemingly satisfied with her words, the wolf became quiet again. He took a few steps back, allowing Hermione to breathe, only to come back again and settle by her side, his flank pressed against her valid leg and his head laid on her lower abdomen.

He seemed at peace, and his breathing started to slow down. Only when he was asleep did Hermione allow herself to raise her head and look to the other side of the clearing where a stag, a wolf and a rat were staring at the scene with astounded expressions. Hermione's gaze met Black's and no words were needed for them to agree on the meaning of what had just happened.

What the fuck?