whoopee! chapter 6 is up, and thanks to Silver who's been reviewing all this time! Please review some more!I love it!
The rest of the day was a breeze, and I was getting anxious, constantly imagining all sorts of unusual scenarios about the events that were to take place tonight. The full moon was already up, giving a silver glow to the forest and the lake's smooth surface. Every once in a while, a bubble would come up from under water, a significant reminder that there was still life under there somewhere, rumors of a giant squid or something.
The earth's surface was littered with random mud puddles and at some places, snow still covered the faded grasses of the grounds. Nevertheless, a group of young boys were taking turns riding the new broomstick one of them had just gotten as a birthday present. They'd lift off, loop around the castle, their scarves and robes flickering behind them, supported by the wind, and then drop slowly and steadily to the ground where another would hop on in turn.
The fresh air whipped me in the face and I took a deep breath, enjoying the released atmosphere. The stress that day had accumulated had faded away, the homework finished, and the joyful tone of all the gryffindor students lifted my mood even more, if it was possible.
Slowly, however, the rumours of the room diminished in volume, a sign that many had either gone to bed, or were preparing to, and I soon found myself the last in the common rom, aside from James and Sirius who threw me annoyed glances every five minutes, as if urging me to go. I pretended to yawn and mumbled an incomprehensible sort of «g'night» to the boys before heading up the spiral staircase to my dorm, waited a few seconds, and silently made my way back down where I caught a glimpse of robes rushing out of the common room, through the opening of the Fat Lady's portrait that served as a door.
I quickly and silently followed them down to one of the halls that led toward the forbidden forest, where a dangerous whomping willow thrashed about, ferociously attempting to sever all who dared approach within its' grasp. The door slammed shut and I pressed my ear against it to hear what was being planned on the other side. The sound was so muffled by the thick wooden doors that I couldn't hear a thing. My curiosity taking over, I opened it and caught Sirius as he was running off toward the giant tree.
-What're you doing outside, this time a night?»
-That's none of your business.» He suddenly seemed alarmed, as if he was doing something illegal- or purely dangerous- and was afraid I'd find out. Well it was too late for that.
-You're not supposed to be he-» My voice was drowned out by a loud, shrieking cry, a howl from a pained, tortured creature.
-What was that?» I asked, squinting to see in the darkness. Something caught my attention, it was moving, very fast, in our direction, reflecting the light emanating from the full moon. From what I could make out, it was about the size of a bear and had glistening, hay colored fur. Its piercing yellow eyes stared in mine, and I understood instantly that it was a wild beast, driven by an avid craving for human flesh that it normally wouldn't have during any other time of the month.
-You're trying to tame a were wofl? Are you mad?»
-Shit.» Sirius exclaimed, pushing me toward the castle. «He's coming this way. Go back inside, Dawn, now!»
-What? I can't leave you here with!»
-Dammit, Dawn, just go!»
We'd gotten to the steps, and still the werewolf was gaining on us rapidly, merely fifty yards away. I dared to look back and noticed another creature ran beside it. It had a much darker color than the other, and its build was much smaller. In fact, it didn't look- even a bit- like the creature at its side. There were antlers placed on top of the other animal. Odd. What was a stag doing beside a ravenous werewolf?
Terror struck me again and I found I was unable to move even the slightest muscle. I was like paralyzed at thought that it might end up biting me if I didn't do anything, but there was nothing I could do. A sigh of relief escaped my lips as I was pushed inside by Sirius and the door was slammed shut behind me. He had stayed outside. With the beasts.
I don't know why I didn't go back to try to save him, maybe it was seeing Sirius's face appearing in my mind, repeating «trust me, trust me» over and over again. I knew he could very well take care fo himself, but I couldn't help worrying. Why didn't I go back then? No idea. Of course, the… smart thing to do would have been to warn a teacher, however, I realised I'd most likely get a detention as well for being out. As for Sirius, no doubt he'd have been expelled. There was nothing to do, really, but to go back to bed and pretend nothing had happened, although I doubted I'd get much shut-eye for the rest of the night.
When the clocktower signaled five o'clock, I jumped out of bed, unable to stand the silence and the time that went oh, so slowly. I'd been counting the minutes go by since 2 in the morning, lying perfectly immobile in my bed, hoping I'd wake up and it would already be time for school.
I couldn't get the werewolf out of my mind. It was suicide to try to tame something like that. I could still see the troubled yellow eyes, the glistening fur, and the deer. What was it doing there? Then it occurred to me that I hadn't heard the Marauders coming back inside the common room. Sure, James and Sirius were unusual, but they were human, and they needed sleep. Therefore, I deduced that they'd be somewhere inside the castle, half asleep, if not already snoring away.So, I set out to find them.
The first place I was going to check was the Hospital Wing. I figured they would've gotten injured- the idiots- and, I was right. Halfway. They'd managed to get back, undetected, to the Gryffindor tower. I hadn't expected them to be able to walk all the way up.
It was no great surprise to the guys, however, when I walked in and sat on the couch in front of them, crossing my arms, expecting an explanation. Sirius, I noticed, was covered in bleeding cuts, and I wondered if Pomfrey had any idea to what they were up to. James, on the other hand, seemed more bruised than anything, as if he'd been thrown around by the whomping willow. Neither of them spoke, instead they found the patterns of the rug on the floor rather interesting, which made me certain they'd lied more than once about the werewolf incidents- I guessed they'd been out without permission every full moon for a while now. It was a miracle they hadn't been caught and/or expelled.
James finally yawned and managed to break through most of the tense atmoshpere that had been building up. Neither of us had seen an expression so funny for a while, and we laughed, momentarily forgetting the seriousness of the situation.
-I'm tired.»
-No wonder. You haven't had a wink of sleep in nearly 24 hours.» (he'd had quidditch practice the previous morning)
-I'm going up.»
We watched as James slowly krept up the stairs, limping and muttering in pain every few steps.
-How long?» I whispered once he'd closed the dorm door behind him. «How long have you been doing this?»
-What, you mean going out for a nighttime stroll on the grounds?»
-No, you know what I mean.» He insisted I say what I knew. Maybe he'd cast an amnesia spell on me. Not good. With a sigh of exasperation, I finally specified the question. « How long have you been 'out for a nighttime stroll on the grounds' during the full moon, with a werewolf?»
-Only since last year.»
-Since last year?»
-Impressed?» I knew that cocky attitude. He knew I couldn't believe he wasn't dead yet, or expelled, and he thought it made him even sexier than he already was- I doubt that was possible.
-Dissapointed.» I smiled. It caught him completely off-guard.
-What?»
-I would've found it quite amusing to see you off to King's Cross halfway through the year.»
-Oh, yes. Amusing.» His tone made me laugh.
-You know, Dawn,» Sirius said, leaning closer« you're the most original girl I've ever met.» I stared deep into his icy-grey eyes.
-It's not saying much ; all the others are a trademark of ' Sirius's number one fan Barbie '.»
His lips gently brushed mine, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I shivered from head to toe as he pressed them more firmly against my own. I felt a certain agitation bubbling inside me ; the same one I had when my fangs were ready to dig into flesh, when blood dripped out of a neck wound and into my mouth. That same warm blood, essence of life, the one I'd craved for so long. The red liquid that allowed me to live as an immortal, live, yet I was already dead in a way.
Although I acted and looked like a living person, I'd also died. One fatefulday I'd awoken with a painful scar just below my jawline, amidst the remains of sand colored bricks, the ruins of a castle, or a mansion, with no recollection ofanything thatmight've happened before. In a corner, a mirror lay still, the only thing that hadn't been invaded by ivy. Many days, I lay in front of it, unable to focus on my reflection. Even now, though, it never came.
I sought help from a kind man, Albus Dumbledore, who happened to be the headmaster of Hogwarts; school of witchcraft and wizardry. He'd gladly given me a place to sleep, earn money, and practice the talents I'd earned tranforming into this beast of night. I could've turned into one of them, the vampires, but I refused to be more than a simple witch. If they knew I'd resigned to this type of life, instead of blindly quenching my thirsts, satisfying my beast-like urges, who knows what they'd be capable of doing. But Dumbledore had found me a safe hiding spot not long ago. I couldn't remember… what was his name… a young man… Sirius Black.
Suddenly, like waking up from a particularily gruesome nightmare, I realised I'd moved from his mouth, and was slowly heading for the jugular, guided by my instincts. Sirius hadn't noticed this odd behaviour, as if it was all some unusual foreplay. If I didn't stop myself now, I'd end up… Oh my God… I didn't want to be a murderer. Not now, not ever. I pushed him off.