Wind blew across the savanna, rustling the browned stalks of grass slightly to create a tinkle of sound.
Movement...
There was motion to the side. A bit closer and a form could be seen crouching in the tall grass. The sun beat down mercilessly as the slight breezed turned the open field into a sea of amber waves.
A low growl and yet closer still... eyes, glowing green eyes set in a powerful face covered with black fur.
The sun was rapidly disappearing on the horizon, the day quickly turning to night. Closer to those unnatural glowing eyes, drawing deeper to clutch at the heart and make it beat out a faster tattoo.
Snarls and calls echoed, getting louder... louder... and LOUDER!
Then... silence.
Now all is a pitch black except for a pair of cat-like green eyes staring unblinkingly into the soul...
"AH!"
The brown haired girl panted for breath, sitting up in her bed and feeling as if she'd recently run around the world.
Sweat beaded on her forehead and was swept away by a pale hand wiping across an even paler face.
17-year-old Hermione Granger had had another one of her famous nightmares. Famous as she'd often been woken up in the middle of the night by anxious yet irritated dorm mates and friends.
She'd had nightmares about the same thing every night. The situations might differ and yet the object of the intruding dreams remained always the same... A giant black cat, most likely a panther, with bright glowing green eyes.
Throwing the covers off, she padded to the bathroom, not bothering to turn on the light.
Why bother, when there was no need? She could see in the dark as well as if it were light. Better even...
Standing with her eyes fixed on the sink she drew several calming breaths before turning on the tap.
Letting the cool water caress her flushed face and closing her eyes tightly, she savored the smell of the clean water pouring out.
Tilting her head back and allowing the remaining droplets of water to trickle down her neck, she opened her eyes, gazing deep into her own orbs reflected in the mirror. Hermione raised her hand in front of her face and stretched her fingers. The hard nails grew long and curved into claws in front of her eyes.
In her second year at Hogwarts, while trying to solve the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets, she'd accidentally added cat hair to the Ployjuice potion she, Harry and Ron had brewed in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.
She'd been mortified. Sprouting a tail and having cat ears and whiskers was not exactly a good pastime...
Thankfully, between Madame Pomfrey and Professor Snape, she'd managed to get back to normal.
Outwardly at least...
Hermione had never told anyone that she been experiencing a few side effects from that botched potion and she was very careful to keep it that way.
One side effect was her nails. The had never been particularly strong before and so she was surprised when trying to clip them one day... They had grown so hard that the clippers had been bent out of shape.
Another day, she'd just woken up and was stretching when she heard a loud rip. Looking at her hands, and the ripped sheet, she saw that she had claws instead of the normal nails. Experiments showed that her claws were retractable, just like any respectable cats', and they were so sharp that they could slice glass.
Excellent vision, during both day and night, was another side effect. Balance was another... no matter how high she fell; she'd always land on her feet.
Thankfully... No one had figured it our. Not even Dumbledore.
Sounds coming from downstairs caught her attention, her hearing also having been enhanced the more she used it. Her eyes narrowed into slits and she padded out of her room quietly. Just as a flash of eerie green light lit the house.
She made her way down the stairs and peered around the corridor in time to see a vase smashing against the wall.
Hermione's stomach turned at the sight that greeted her. 2 armed Death Eaters stood in her parents' living room, her parents sprawled at their feet.
She fought to keep herself under control but a low growl still escaped. The Death Eaters' heads snapped up and they turned in her direction, wands at the ready.
Hermione fought for control over her anger but it was too late... the anger had flooded her system and pushed her to extract her revenge.
Her claws emerged and she snarled, leaping at one as he passed by her in the corridor. Scratching and clawing at him as he twirled in a panic to get her off of him. A particularly deep cut on his throat finished him off and he fell to the floor, gurgling as he choked on his own blood.
His partner stared at his fallen comrade in disbelief. They had come to kill the 3 Muggles inside the house and had killed the parents easily enough. Stupid things didn't even realize their mistake until it was too late. They were dead before they could even scream.
But the girl... was no girl. It was a monster! Long brown hair, graceful body, snarling mouth and clawed hands stained with blood.
Panicked, he sent several spells her way. She ran, dodging as she went. Through the living room, she careened into the kitchen and reached the back door, her hand on the doorknob. Only to fall victim to a particularly nasty curse that had waves of pain lancing through her body.
Hermione gritted her teeth against the pain and wrenched open the door, Death Eater right behind her. She ran and ran and ran until she reached a park.
'Mum and Dad used to take me here...' she thought, stopping to look around. 'Stop it Hermione! You have to survive!! It's what they wanted!!!'
Trusting her instincts, she climbed a tree and crouched on a branch to wait for the Death Eater.
A long mournful howl rent the air. The lone Death Eater stumbled into the park, falling down and scrambling to get up.
He didn't get the chance. A large black wolf was holding his throat in his jaws 3 seconds later. It left, still clutching it's bloody prize.
'It's gone,' Hermione thought, jumping down from the branch. "I should go home. Call Dumbledore. Or something..." she said out loud, making her way slowly back to her house.
A low growl came from a bush to her right and she froze. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she turned... face to face with the wolf that had saved her.
Only... it didn't exactly look like it was jumping to save her this time. Just jumping AT her.
She fell to the ground on her back, a large wolf poised on top of her.
The last thing she saw... was the bright full moon shining down on them.