A/N: Here's another chappy! One right after the other! Now back to my rambling! No - no. Maybe not. I think I'll save you all the pain. :) Anyways, things start getting interesting at this point. Only 2 chapters left! XD

Disclaimer: To write or not write? That is the question... not if it's J.K.Rowling's, cause that's pretty obvious!


Chapter 10

"When Darkness Comes"

The day of the hunt was at hand and at around 5 o'clock everyone was summoned to the Great Hall. Snape had left his seat in the hall to approach the Hufflepuffs as they sat quietly in their chairs. They all looked at him with worried eyes as some whispered: "Do you think he'll take points off while we're in the Hunt too?" He looked about them analytically as his mouth tightened. Snape handed each team their respective list and bag to which they should put the items they found in. He then gave a side-glance to Dumbledore and nodded his head. Afterward, he spoke out loud to announce the rules. The other children that were not in the Scavenger House were all at their own house tables yet tried desperately to listen in.

"Now listen. Each team has until supper to search for the items on the list. Some teachers will be standing post to make sure that you do not surpass the perimeter of the search area. A part of the forbidden forest has been made enterable and I expect that you do NOT go too deeply into the wood. I will be standing by the edge of the forest near Hagrid's hut and will sound a horn to indicate the end of the search. You are all to report there IMMEDIATELY. There you will hand in your lists and items to me and your house teacher will lead you back to the castle. Is that understood?"

No one dared to speak but simply nodded their heads knowingly. Belladona and the other teachers remained motionless at their tables as Snape laid down the ground rules. She then gave a quick, concerned look to Bill who was sitting calmly with Harry, Ron and Hermione. Harry looked grim as well, and often turned to one of the outside windows and saw the day dimming slowly. The moment that Snape indicated for the Hufflepuffs to begin, they all ran out of the room and headed wherever they believe their items to be. Acacia and Christopher were the first to be out of sight, with the boy wearing a suspicious looking turtleneck. Bella smiled to her sister and waved as she left. She then, got up and looked at Snape angrily while heading to the Gryffindor table and sat next to Bill.

"Don't worry about it, Dumbledore's still here. He won't let anything bad happen," said Bill encouragingly.

"But-" she began and then looked right at Harry who gave her a pensive look in return.

Bill turned around to see what she was looking at as Harry got to his feet and told everyone that he had something he had to prepare for. He dashed out the Great Hall at great speed and left most everyone dumbfounded. Bill asked Bella if she knew what was going on but she just nodded. The teachers now got up and decided to head for their designated areas to make sure the students didn't get into any trouble. Professor Flitwick signaled Bella that it was time take her post and the girl gloomily got up and left. Bill told Ron and Hermione that the best thing they could do was to stay in the common room for now because no matter what happened tonight, the werewolf would surely appear. Ron began to protest and said that they could be of some help but Hermione just grabbed his arm and nodded.

"We'll go Bill. I think this time maybe we should keep out of it, Ron,"

"But we actually saw that-" he then looked around to make sure no one was listening. "We saw that creature... I mean, it almost killed us and we can tell Bill about it."

"Ron, I've seen it already. It's very hard to forget," said Bill.

Ron just sighed as Hermione hugged him worriedly.

"Let's go, we won't know much until later tonight anyways. Good luck Bill," she said as she got up.

"Ok. Well, get it for me will you? Give it a nice blast between those nasty orange eyes! Bye," added Ron as they both left.

Bill had asked Bella were she would be standing post before she left and went to the edge of the forbidden forest. The night was nearly settling in when he got there. The sun was on the edge of the horizon making a pretty array of colors in the sky. Bella stood alone looking out for any students and caught sight of Bill said he trudged along the snowy path.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," she answered with a bit of a shiver.

"Have you seen anything?"

"No, not yet. It's almost time... I can't stand it... Why doesn't Snape just sound the horn!" she said cringing.

"Don't worry... It shouldn't be long..." said Bill looking at his pocket watch hidden in his jacket.

He looked at the hands that indicated that it was about 10 minutes to 6. The sky was grey now, and that eerie felling came over him. He'd be seeing it again, that monstrous beast. Far behind them, however, was a pair of Hufflepuffs searching in the wood.

"Come on Christopher, let's go! This place is creepy!"

"Acacia, I told you that we needed to go into the forest to reach the place," he said.

"But... it's – it's scary! And it's getting really dark! The moon should be up soon and if Snape blows the horn, we won't be able to get there on time cause we'll be too far,"

"The moon's almost up?" asked Christopher.

"Yeah, look," she said as she pointed to the sky now filled with starlight.

"I can't believe it's this late,"

"Oh! Hey look! Bellflowers! That's item number 11 on the list! Excellent!" she said as she walked over to where the plant grew.

Acacia plucked them out and put them in her bag. At that very moment she heard the horn and sadly sighed. The hunt was over and she had not found everything on the list. The moment she turned around Christopher was nowhere to be seen. She searched about the trees and wondered if the boy had left the moment he heard Snape. She didn't like that at all and was starting to tremble because of the cold. She then noticed a rustle in the bushes and slowly walked towards it. She quickly parted the bushes' branches and saw...

"Oh! Hey! Now, what are you doing here? It's not funny to play mean jokes like that. Imagine, I thought you were..." she began but then stepped back suddenly.

She dropped her bag as it stood up... eyes glimpsing through the dark and shining a bright orange, hair curling up and claws slowly growing out of human fingertips. It staggered slowly before her as it flattened the bushes and put both hands on the ground. It began to scream furiously. It made a wheezing noise like it was gasping for air as the face grew longer and sharp teeth began to shine in the now fully lit moonlight. The back came up as the shoulders moved down all during the terrifying screams and yells of pain. A growl slipped out of the fully-grown muzzle and the bushel of hair until it peaked into a powerful howl... Acacia had found it... she had encountered the werewolf.

The sound of Snape's horn could be heard for miles around, echoing through the entire grounds and castle. It took but minutes for everyone to congregate near the hut. The teachers arrived so quickly that it seemed almost as if they had "apparated" there. Slowly looking about the children, Snape counted the number of groups that had arrived and then looked at Professor Sprout lifting his hand and showing one finger. She nodded and pulled out a piece of parchment and began to look at both the paper and the students. She afterwards, handed it to Snape with a worried look. Hagrid seemed the most agitated among the Professors Flitwick, Snape, Sprout, McGonagall and Madam Hooch. Bella and Bill arrived the moment that Snape made his first announcement.

"Everyone come to me and give me your bags. With this quill mark on the outside of the bags your group number and join Professor Sprout. She will lead you to the castle and you will all know the results of the hunt... tomorrow morning,"

The students did as they were told and joined their house teacher. Some were looking about trying to find their friends all the while laughing happily and jumping of joy. The expressions on the teachers' faces were not as pleasant however. Once Snape received the final bag and used his own quill to cross out the groups that presented themselves, He gave Sprout the list again and told her to proceed as planned. She looked at the list worriedly.

"Oh my... First years..." she sighed.

"It's best you go... We can't do anything with them here,"

"Of course," she added while indicating her students to follow her.

Snape had told to Madam Hooch to race to the castle to inform Dumbledore and the remaining teachers. With her broom at hand, she rose to the skies and headed straight to the headmaster's office. Bella ran up to Snape while trying to catch her breath. Bill followed directly behind, his wand hidden in his coat pocket. The wind blew briskly and their breaths could be seen quite clearly. Snape gave Bella dark look, but this time it had a hint of what seemed like reluctance.

"Well, I told you it didn't-"

"It DID work Nightshade. We have isolated the suspected students."

"What? Who?" she asked curiously.

"Group number... 5... Nightshade, Acacia and Hagen, Christopher," he said in a low tone.

Belladona stepped back; eyes wide open and mute with shock. Bill looked at Bella and put his hand on her shoulder as she turned around to bury her head in his arms. He looked up and didn't understand what was happening. The children were missing sure, but "isolating" the students was preposterous. The werewolf was not a student.

"Snape, what do you mean by isolating the students? The werewolf isn't one of them!" said Bill with a confused look.

"Weasley, you are not involved in this. I suggest you bring Nightshade back to the castle and make sure she doesn't try to-" began Snape until he was cut off.

"What, back to the castle? You can't be serious? My little sister's out there and you expect me to-"

"Yes. That is exactly what I expect you to do. You are no longer a part of this. Dumbledore and Hooch should be on their way to inform the ministry about the diseased victim. On his leave I am in charge due to my knowledge in Dark Arts and you will tell the your superior at the ministry that you were relieved of your duties due to your close relation to the culprit... or victims," he said sternly.

"Superior at the Ministry? What does that have to do with anything??" repeated Bill.

Bella then looked up at Bill, a tear on her face. Snape looked at the two and then sighed irritably.

"This would have been a lot simpler had you told him the truth the moment you met with-" began Snape.

"But! I wasn't supposed to," she said still tearing.

"What is going on?!" shouted Bill as the tension began to climb.

"It is simple Weasley. Your friend here is working with the "Werewolf Capture Unit" of the ministry's "Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures" department. She is an inspector here on an investigation to look for a werewolf that she had been persecuting for a year. No doubt she had been made inspector prematurely. She has followed it here ever since it was suspected to have been injured by another werewolf at Hogsmeade a year and a half ago during... a regretful event," he said as his fist tightened, crushing the list of students.

Bill looked at Bella flabbergasted. She was a ministry inspector of the "Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures"? No doubt she was working in the beast division of the ministry and was called in for some subtler investigating. Her strength, knowledge and lack of fear of the werewolf made far more sense to what she was then the splitting charm explanation! Bella looked up at Bill with a mix of worry and shame.

"You're an inspector?" he asked still astounded.

"Bill... I'm sorry... I couldn't tell you," she said wiping away her tears.

"Hagrid! Get to the north hills quickly! We can't waste anymore time! They should be standing by!" ordered Snape to the nervous bearded man.

"Y-y-yes. I-I'm on it!" he said shaking as he walked on the snow leaving immense tracks behind.

"And you best go to the castle and check up on your sister with what ever magic you Nightshades use. She may already be-"

"You're so COLD Snape!" shouted Bella while putting her hand to face, covering her eyes.

"Nightshade we must be logical. If your guaranty on behalf on the young Nightshade is true than the werewolf should be none other than the boy," he said while beginning to walk away to direct the remaining teachers.

Bill looked at the floor. He felt so helpless and so foolish. While he had believed in theories and was trying to find out who was behind that grey fur and yellow eyes, he had totally ignored his first hunch, his first suspicion.

"So it was Christopher," he breathed.

Bella raised her head slowly and looked at Bill. It looked like the girl was ready to faint but instead walked up to Bill, her eyes even wider than the moon and her mouth left open as her breath floated into the dark.

"You... you..." she managed to mutter.

"I – I had suspected it," he said quietly.

"You.... you thought it was him... and never told me about it?" she said her face beginning to twitch.

"I..."

"BILL! HOW COULD YOU!! Acacia might be infected... or even worse, DEAD... and you could have stopped this before it ever started!! Before we HAD to go through with this stupid hunt!" she shouted.

Enough was enough. She couldn't take the strain. Belladona ran away towards the castle in total frustration and lamentation. Bill felt like dying inside or at least substituting himself for Acacia. Professor McGonagall walked up to Bill and put her hand on his shoulder.

"At least she's in the castle now. This is better for her. Tell her we promise to find the little one soon. Go to her. She shouldn't be alone now,"

Bill nodded and began to walk away. Would she even see him after what he did... or, didn't do?

"What happened to you? Why..." said Acacia backing up from where the creature lay. "Oh... that's right. You can't speak can you? Well listen, why don't we head to Hagrid's hut? Everyone should be waiting for me and-"

A sudden growl came from the beast as it lifted a hairy finger towards a path at the beginning of a clearing in the wood.

"Oh... So... you want me to follow you do you? Ok, I understand," said Acacia as she began to walk slowly but cautiously in front of the werewolf. "Maybe you should go a head... with those big orange eyes of yours, I know you can see better then me. This way we won't get lost,"

Another grown emanated from the werewolf and Acacia decided that for her own safety... she should keep her mouth shut from now on.

Bill entered the castle and walked to Belladona's chamber. He knocked on the door but no one answered. "She could be in her office," he thought. "Then again, she could be just avoiding me," He walked to her office and heard a little sound. It was sort of like music but he could tell there were no instruments involved. No, this was the sound of a little voice, singing enjoyably in the dismal and empty part of the castle. It was clearly coming from Belladona's office, for the door was wide open and everything could be heard. Bill looked inside and saw Bella holding up the little, elegant "Memory box" as a ghostly like image floated above it. It was a specter of Acacia that was smiling, singing and being her adorable self. As soon as Bill stepped into the room and shut the door, Bella closed the box and looked at the floor. She sniffled a bit and Bill tried to get close enough to her without making her move away from him.

"That was lovely... She sings very well," he said softly.

"That was my birthday present from her," she whispered as she placed the box on her desk.

"I'm – I'm truly sorry about Christopher. The only reason I didn't say anything was because I was never sure if I was right about him. And I didn't want to make you worry," he said as the girl looked up at him and smiled slightly.

"I know... I know you didn't mean anything bad from it," she began as she looked at a little red flower on her desk.

It was floating, encased in a glass box with sparkles of light flickering from the centre of the flower. Belladona smiled a bit more and looked at Bill.

"It seems like she's still okay. The flower's still perfect. I do hope they find her soon. I just wish that Dumbledore had a little more faith in me. My plan could have been executed TONIGHT if Snape hadn't barged in. Now, we'll never know if it could have worked."

"What was it?" asked Bill as he kneeled next to her.

"Well-" she began until there were several hammering knocks on the door.

Bill stood up and walked to the door. He opened it to find Ron and Hermione looking rather distressed. They began to tug at Bill's clothes as Ron said:

"Harry's gone! We can't find him anywhere!"

"Bill, have you seen him?" said Hermione.

"No, I haven't. When did he leave?"

"He just disappeared about 20 minutes before the Hufflepuffs returned. We're looking everywhere and there's no sign of him!" said Ron.

Bella stood up and went to where the others stood. She then concentrated her mind and mumbled: "Acerbus Divinatio" over and over while placing her finger tips on her temples. Trapped in a pale glow, her eyes shut tightly; she could see visions of trees and a long narrow path leading to the east. She then saw a grey wolf muzzle and awoke instantly.

"The boy is in the forest..." she breathed, released from her visions and falling to her knees on the floor.

"Bella!" said Bill as he caught her. "What happened?"

"I used.... The Nightshade future charm... "Acerbus Divinatio" or "Dark Prediction"... oh... I hate using it. I can't even use it properly... but I saw where Harry was..." she said her head in a whirl.