Updated: Sunday 13 February 2005
Disclaimer: See Chapter One
Chapter Twenty Four: Morning Has Broken
A few hours previously…
Estella was suddenly instilled with an eerie sense of efficiency. Letting out her breath slowly and quietly, Estella hugged the wall, tiptoeing across its length, feeling for the nearest exit, and careful not to make any sudden movements. Estella knew without a doubt that Moony could smell her, and most likely see her too. He was merely toying with her, playing with his prey. Estella shuddered. She knew better than to approach the beast, expecting to find some shred of the Godfather she knew in its features. Remus would not have looked at her so fearfully and urged her to leave if Moony was merely the kind of wolf that just wanted to play ball with her.
Her hands suddenly grasping at air behind her, Estella began to back away slowly through the doorway into what she assumed to be another hallway. Turning away cautiously, Estella made her way forward, her ears pricked for any sound of the werewolf she knew was behind her, following, waiting for his time.
With her mind so focused on keeping mental tabs on the werewolf's last known whereabouts, Estella, unfortunately was not paying attention to what was in front of her. Unexpectedly stubbing her toe on something metal and hard on the floor, Estella lost her balance and fell forward, landing on the floor with a crash - a inexplicably hollow crash – grazing her legs and splitting her lip in the process. Running her hands around the floor surrounding her in distress, one of her fingers caught in a small ring of metal on the floor, whilst the other detected a symmetrical crack in the floorboards. Estella had seen enough of them during her explorations of the castle to know she had landed on a trapdoor.
Sliding off the trapdoor on her belly so as to not alert the approaching werewolf of any threat, she worked the rusted old ring free on its axis and pulled, grimacing as she knelt on her injured knees for purchase. Hearing the soft padded paws of her pursuer increase in step, Estella channelled all her strength, fear and hope into one last tug.
'I swear if I ever see Mrs Norris chasing a mouse again I will save the mouse!' she swore to herself as she pulled.
With what only could be displayed as a show of accidental magic, the rusty, stiff hinges began to cooperate; the trapdoor rising high enough to admit a small person. Hearing the werewolf growl and pounce behind her, Estella pitched herself forward into the darkness below; the attacking wolf tearing the book bag from her shoulders before the door slammed on his nose.
Tucking her head down to her chest, Estella rolled forward down a series of steps with the momentum that the shove the closing trapdoor had given her. Her increasingly bruised and battered body coming to a stop on the bottom step, Estella struggled to her feet; eager to get away from the scratching and growls she could hear above her. Clawing her way through the ink black cavity before her, Estella followed the tunnel's length, stubbornly refusing to succumb to the fatigue and pain that coursed through her.
Scrambling to his feet, the weary man looked around frantically for any sign of his precious goddaughter. The air was rank with her scent… her fear… her blood. A choking sense of foreboding gripped his heart tightly as she searched for any sign of the child. His heart froze as his eyes took in the wolf's scratch marks on the trapdoor and Estella's destroyed book bag amongst faint dashes of human blood. Reaching down and tearing the trapdoor open with inhuman strength – the wards no longer holding him back - Remus plundered his way down the well-trodden path, his mind awash with emotion. He swore to himself that had Moony done anything to his goddaughter, neither he nor the madness he carried within deserved to draw another breath.
Running now, Remus sped down the tunnel he knew all too well from his time at Hogwarts. Estella was close, Remus could smell her, and if his fears were correct, she had just spent a night outside in the cool March air unprotected from the elements. Coming around the final bend, long since having started the ascent towards higher ground, Remus was reunited with the sight of the familiar form of his goddaughter, lying on her stomach on the cool tunnel floor, her back warmed by the light of the rising sun as it streamed in through the entrance above her head.
'She couldn't get by the Willow!' Remus realised with a start as he crouched down to assess the child's unconscious form. The poor child looked worse for wear. Caked in a mix of dust, cobwebs and dirt, Estella was covered in a series of cuts and bruises, and her knees were scabbed over with dried blood. Rising to his feet to reach up beyond the sleeping child, Remus felt around the tunnel's entrance for the knot in the roots that would grant them safe passage and pressed it before stooping back down to pull Estella into his arms.
Crawling out of the tunnel awkwardly, Remus emerged from under the Whomping Willow and sped towards the infirmary, his inexorably exhausted body fuelled by adrenalin and concern. Estella – who had yet to awaken – was breathing shallowly and was dangerously cool to the touch. His werewolf senses were panicked to note that the resilient child's heartbeat was not beating as strongly as it normally did, even in slumber.
And he could smell blood.
End Chapter Twenty Four: Morning Has Broken