UPDATED

There will be mild torture in this chapter and also violence.

Hermione was running through a decrepit mansion. From what she could tell, this mansion had been absolutely beautiful during its prime, but years of neglect had rendered it unrecognizable. Her paws barely made a sound as she turned down corridor after corridor as if she were being led by some invisible force.

In front of her were two ornate doors and they burst open as she approached. Hermione skidded to a stop in the middle of a ballroom. In front of her was a throne; the only item of furniture in the entire room that still seemed to be intact. On that throne, was a crown and Hermione slowly made her way towards the two items, her ears flattened to her head as her eyes darted around the room.

There was a strange auror of power emanating from the crown, one that wasn't bad but wasn't good either. Something told Hermione that the wearer decided just how good or evil the power became and shivered at the possibility of it falling into the hands of the next Voldemort.

"Lycaon and his descendants live," came a soft, feminine voice from behind her and Hermione turned to see a beautiful woman with long, wavy gold hair and brilliant green eyes. She looked at Hermione with fondness, like they had known each other their entire lives. "And Lycaon will return to crown his heir," she continued, and Hermione recognized the words, similar to the ones her wolf had spoken to Greyback in the library at Hogwarts.

The woman walked towards Hermione, kneeling before her as she did so. Her white dress seemed to repel the dust and grime in the abandoned room as she raised a pale hand and ran it through Hermione's fur. "But the heir will have its challenges," she warned, "and the first will come in the form of a wizard born of darkness. A wielder of dark magic who will battle the heir for the chance of having the throne and the power that comes with the title of king.

"The heir will need a champion," the woman continued, running her fingers through Hermione's soft fur, "a protector and a guide to help them until they are ready to ascend. You are that champion, little wolf."

The ballroom slowly began to fade around them and was instead replaced with a large forest Hermione immediately recognized.

"This will be the location of your greatest battle yet," the woman told her as she stood and moved into the large clearing surrounded by gnarled trees and creeping bushes. "And here," the woman continued sadly, standing on a patch of dead grass, "this is where Hermione Granger will fall forever; Guardian of…"

Hermione awoke with a gasp as a shock ran throughout her body. She flinched away from the source of the shock only to look up and see…

"Caleb?" she croaked, blinking blearily as her brain tried to commute what she was actually seeing. It wasn't possible. The man before her couldn't possibly be the boy she had seen a couple weeks ago.

He grinned wickedly at her as his calloused finger trailed down her cheek. Hermione turned away, not wanting him to touch her now that she had learnt he was a traitor to their pack. "Honestly," he began, that melodic voice almost hypnotizing, "I really shouldn't be surprised you figured it out so quickly, Hermione. After all, what would you expect from the Brightest Witch of Your Age?"

"Why?" she breathed, looking around the room she had awoken in only to realize it wasn't a room at all; it was a dungeon. As if her eyes were directly connected to her nose, the various scents suddenly assaulted her at her realization. Hermione physically recoiled as the smell of blood, urine, and death reached her nose. It was everywhere; taking up every available space and it burned her sensitive nose something fierce.

"Why what, Hermione? You're gonna have to be a little more specific," Caleb teased, standing to his full height and towering over her prone form. Hermione and her wolf agreed they didn't like this power play and made to stand only to hiss as she realized her hands were bound above her head with thick, onyx cuffs. "Ah yes," Caleb grinned, trailing his fingers along the cuffs, "brilliant, aren't they? My father's creation. He used them quite regularly on me to make sure I couldn't reach my full magical potential.

"I figured, if they worked on someone as powerful as me they'd definitely make sure you wouldn't be using any of that stored magical energy on anyone either," he explained coyly, "after all, I like my body intact and I have no doubt you'd try and curse off a few body parts given half the chance."

"I don't need magic to remove body parts," Hermione growled, her eyes flashing gold as her wrists pulled against her confines, "I'll rip you to pieces with my teeth and claws the moment I get the chance you traitorous bastard."

"Kinky," Caleb said with a flirty wink, "though I'm sure we could find something more productive for you to do with your hands and mouth, princess."

"Do that and I'm sure Greyback will rip you apart himself," she stated, "after all, hasn't he claimed me?"

Caleb's face darkened as he moved to crouch in front of Hermione. He grabbed her cheeks and squeezed them tightly as he forced her to meet his eyes. "You think Greyback would stand a chance against me?" he growled, his eyes going black with a gold ring around the outside as dark magic filled the cell. Hermione felt her body trying to fight against the dark aura that was trying to suffocate her. "I'm more powerful than the Dark Lord and Potter combined," he snarled, his elongated teeth very close to her face, "that deranged bastard wouldn't stand a chance against me, princess, and you'd do well to remember that."

Then, his fingers were gone and he was across her cell before she had time to blink. His eyes and teeth returned to normal as he leaned casually against the door to her cell. Hermione was going to ask him what the hell was going on before the smell of corrupted Earth and death reached her nose.

"Ah, the little bunny is awake now," purred Greyback as he entered the dungeon and approached her cell, "did you enjoy your sleep, pet?"

Hermione clenched her jaw, refusing to speak to him as she glared at Caleb who was smirking lazily. The look reminded her so much of Malfoy in school that she wanted to punch the werewolf in the nose just like she had done to that pompous prat all those years ago. Greyback, noticing her attention wasn't solely on him, followed her gaze and gave Caleb a raised eyebrow.

"And what did you say to get the little bunny so fired up?" Greyback asked lowly.

"I simply told her the truth about her fate here," Caleb replied submissively, "and how flattered she should be that our alpha has deemed her worthy enough of being claimed."

His answer seemed to pacify the older werewolf who grunted before motioning for Caleb to leave him alone with Hermione. She watched Caleb send her a look that told her not to speak a word of what was said between them, or he would make her suffer for it. The look of barely concealed lust in his gaze made her recoil and she saw his smirk widen before he left the dungeons.

"Comfortable?" Greyback asked once they were alone, smirking at her as he took up the spot Caleb had just been in.

Hermione grunted, glaring at him as she pulled against her restraints with a snarl.

"Feisty, aren't you?" he continued, undeterred by the icy glare coming from the enraged woman, "I like that."

"Let me out of these," Hermione said, pulling against the shackles, "and I'll show you just how feisty I can be."

Greyback chuckled and slowly began to approach the bound woman who forced herself not to shrink back. He kneeled before her just like Caleb had done earlier and, like Caleb, Greyback grabbed her cheeks roughly. Hermione bit her tongue to keep from whimpering in pain when his clawed fingers punctured the skin of her cheek as the humour left his eyes.

"You'll learn your place," he growled at her, "even if I have to beat it into you. You are mine; and you will submit to me. Do you understand, little bunny?"

Hermione knew it was stupid the moment she did it but that hadn't stopped her from spitting at the larger werewolf. He seemed surprised at first as he raised his free hand to wipe the spit from his face before his eyes shone with anger and Hermione was thrown to the side as the back of his hand connected with the side of her face.

"Do that again and I'll rip out your fucking tongue," Greyback snarled fiercely before he stood up and made his way over to the door to her cell. "Your insubordination needs to be punished, bunny. Let's see how agreeable a few days without food or water make you."

With that said, Greyback slammed the door to her cell closed and left Hermione alone in the dungeons.

Hermione had tried everything possible to access whatever magic had possessed her in the library but, just as Caleb had said, the onyx cuffs kept her magic contained and even caused her physical pain if she tried to access it for too long. The pain had gotten to the point where Hermione had passed out to escape it only to dream of the strange blonde woman again. Every time, she would wake up before she learnt who she was supposed to care for.

The riddle of the dream had kept her from going completely stir crazy in the cell when the second day drew into the third and the third into the fourth. She was starving and so dehydrated that she couldn't even form a small amount of saliva to provide her with some form of water. However, Hermione didn't complain whenever Greyback or Caleb would come down the stairs and taunt her.

Greyback had promised to end her suffering if she would submit to him and if Hermione had had any saliva left, she would have spat on him again. As it was, she simply turned away from both men whenever they came to her cell; ignoring them until they would leave.

Her stomach hurt, her throat felt like sandpaper, her hair was mattered, and her wrists had been rubbed raw against the cuffs. All in all, Hermione certainly looked the part of a prisoner but she refused to allow them to break her. She had survived Bellatrix Lestrange for Merlin's sake; she wouldn't allow herself to be broken by men who believed they could own anything they wanted. She had been raised better than that and she had had friends who had taught her that she was worth more than that. Harry had made sure to assure her of that all through the war, especially when Ron had left them during their time on the run.

When the door to the dungeons opened, Hermione didn't even move. She was too tired to do anything more than blink blearily. Then, a heavenly scent reached her nose and, had she had any saliva left, she would have salivated as the smell of pumpkin soup reached her nose. Thinking it all a way for Greyback to torture her, Hermione simply continued to stare at the opposite wall of her cell. Her eyes narrowed in on some strange markings on the wall but she was just too hungry and thirsty to make sense of the markings.

The sound of her cell door opening reached her ears and Hermione felt her entire body try to stiffen in preparation for whatever might come next. However, to her great surprise, the scent that filled the air was not the corrupted smell of Greyback or the spicy scent of Caleb; instead, she smelt warm milk and fear.

Hermione slowly turned her head to look at the newcomer, her whole body protesting the motion. Everything hurt; in the days that she had been in that little cell, she hadn't been allowed to get up and move around. Her back was raw from rubbing up against the cold stone behind her and Hermione had lost all feeling in her arms from their positioning. The cold seeped into every pore on her body and, she was sure, she had a fever with how much she was shaking and sweating. Still, she refused to let Greyback have the satisfaction of seeing her any weaker than she had to look in front of him.

She was a petite little thing with ebony hair and azure eyes. Everything about the woman in front of her was small except for the roundness of her very pregnant belly. She was skinny, far too skinny for any person to be and especially a pregnant woman. Her cheeks were sunken in and her eyes held heavy bags under them as they darted around the cell; like she was afraid someone would jump out of the shadows.

"I-I brought you s-some so-up," she stuttered heavily, her cheeks pinking as she shuffled forward on bare feet that were scraped up and bruised, "a-and some wa-water."

Hermione couldn't say anything as she greedily drank from the bottle as the woman held it to her lips, taking large sips only to have to fight off nausea a moment later. "Y-you shouldn't drink s-so fast," the woman scolded softly as she shuffled closer.

Hermione nodded, taking more tentative sips before the nearly empty bottle was put aside and she looked at the woman suspiciously. "I thought Greyback wanted me to break before he fed me," she managed to get out before she began coughing. The woman waited patiently for her to stop and have another mouthful of water before Hermione spoke again, "so, why is he letting me have food?"

The woman looked down at her feet and her cheeks turned a darker shade of pink. "He i-isn't," she said. Hermione must have looked confused before she continued quickly, "G-G-Greyback isn't here r-right now. He and t-the wizard left t-this m-morning."

"Wizard?" Hermione questioned, "you're a muggle?"

The woman nodded, "please, e-eat," she urged, kneeling in front of Hermione and holding a spoonful of soup towards her.

Hermione did so without further prompting. She could already smell that the soup wasn't laced with anything and, quite frankly, she might have eaten it even if it were poisoned; she was just that hungry. The woman kneeled before her silently as she continued to feed Hermione the soup and, much too soon for her liking, Hermione swallowed the last of the hot meal before the woman stood, picked up the bottle, and began to make her way out of the cell.

"Wait," Hermione said just as the woman closed the door to her cell, "who are you?"

"L-L-Lucy," the woman stuttered before she disappeared from the dungeons, once again leaving Hermione all alone.

Hermione groaned as her eyes squinted open and adjusted to the familiar darkness that seemed to constantly surround her. It had been two days since Lucy had come in and fed her the soup and she was getting more and more hungry. Greyback and Caleb had returned the very same day Lucy had visited; both of them sporting equally suspicious smirks and it made Hermione's hackles rise.

Her eyes drifted to the runes on the opposite wall and she forced her brain to focus on them like she had been doing the past couple of days. She had managed to translate half but unless she could translate the rest it was all a jumbled mess. However, she was determined to translate them the moment she had recognized that whatever it was, it was about the Veil.

Also, from what she had read; the runes seemed to be a ritual and when Hermione had translated the words crossing the Veil, her heart had skipped a beat. However, it wasn't until she saw the small symbol etched onto the bottom of the wall that she really got excited. It was the same symbol on the little journal she had found in the Restricted Section which meant whoever had written the journal had written what was on the wall as well.

So far, Hermione knew that whatever ritual the runes spoke of had to be performed on a full moon which should be within the next week and a bit. Unfortunately, with the way things were going, Hermione doubted she'd be free by then and it disheartened her because this was the biggest lead she had found on potentially saving the souls trapped within it.

The runes also spoke of a mirror dimension, which Hermione had assumed to be true when she had first started researching the Veil with Lavender. With that said, the runes also mentioned something about the Veil having an effect on ones 'wilder self' and Hermione could only assume whoever had written it had been talking about Werewolves.

Her head snapped away from the wall when she heard the door to the dungeons open and the smell of corrupted Earth reached her nose.

Greyback stood before her cell door a few seconds later; a look on his face that expressed frustration and anger as he looked down at her. "I see your punishment has done little to make you grateful, little bunny," he said when she turned her gaze away from him to stare blankly at the wall.

Hermione didn't answer him; not wanting to say anything in the presence of the monster standing in front of her. She fought every instinct in her body that screamed for her to look at him when she heard her cell door being opened and his scent slowly got closer to her.

"Did I ever mention how delectable you look in that dress?" he purred as he crouched in front of her, his putrid breath fanning over the side of her face and making her scrunch her nose up in distaste. "Good enough to eat," he continued before his nose was suddenly in the crook of her neck and he was taking a long inhale. "You smell amazing," he groaned, the smell of his lust filling the air before his tongue trailed along the length of her neck and Hermione couldn't hold back the scared whimper that fell from her lips as she tightly closed her eyes. "I bet you taste even better," he continued, his body leaning away from her.

For a moment, Hermione believed that he was done taunting her. She should have known better.

Her eyes shot open and her mouth opened as a pained shriek fell from her lips.

Greyback chuckled, digging the cursed dagger deeper into her arm; happy with the reaction he was drawing from the younger woman.

Hermione thrashed violently, her screams echoing off of the walls of the dungeon as he continued to cut into her flesh.

It felt like hours and there had been so many times when Hermione had wanted to pass out to be rid of the pain. However, her fear of what Greyback might do to her unconscious body was the only thing to starve off the darkness that was always trying to encroach on her.

When he was done, Hermione was sweating heavily and had fallen silent; her eyes distant as she stared at the opposite wall. She had retreated into herself, keeping herself conscious but trying to drown herself in something that could help her forget what was happening to her body. It didn't work but that didn't stop her from trying.

A rough, wet object made its way up her blood covered arm and Hermione couldn't even flinch away in disgust when she realised Greyback was tasting her. He let loose a guttural groan that had Hermione's entire body going cold before he stood up and left without another word.

She didn't know how long she simply sat there before she finally worked up the strength to look at her arm.

She wished she hadn't.

Her eyes flooded with tears that rapidly spilled over her cheeks as she stared at the torn flesh.

Mudblood.

Greyback had cut open her old scars; tracing over the letters that Bellatrix had carved into her arm all those years ago.

A hoarse sob tore its way out of her throat at the sight before her and Hermione, for the first time since she had become a prisoner, felt hopelessness fill her entire being.

She felt like she was back in Malfoy Manor, screaming and begging as Bellatrix carved into her arm. Like it always did when she thought about it, Hermione's arm started to burn and her body started to have small convulsions. She was very familiar with this part of her PTSD but it had been so long since she had been trapped in the memory.

Hermione's eyes had dulled after the experience; staring at nothing as she receded into her own mind. There would be no relief for her there; not when the demons of her past were so eager to catch her at her lowest and drag her further down.

The young witch didn't even react when her cell door was opened a few hours later. She barely registered the horrified gasp that reached her ears before the sound of something hitting the floor and feet fleeing the dungeons. Hermione just wanted to be left alone; she just wanted to melt into the ground and sleep for an eternity.

The room was once again filled with sound as the light footsteps rushed back into the dungeon and a small part of Hermione's mind realised they had kept the cell door open when they had left. Not that she could have escaped; she was both physically and emotionally exhausted and still bound to the wall by the magic suppressing cuffs.

The smell of warm milk and lavender reached her nose and her wolf relaxed her pacing as she realised the person in her cell was no threat to her.

"I-I'm gonna help y-you," came a soft voice, Hermione vaguely remembered belonged to Lucy. When soft hands moved to her arm, Hermione startled violently. Her eyes shifted colour and her canines sharpened as she snapped at Lucy without thinking. The petite woman scurried back, fear permeating the air as she stared at Hermione with wide eyes.

Seeing the fear in her eyes made Hermione shift back and bury her head in her shoulder as she began to cry. She just wanted this to all be over. This wasn't how things were supposed to go. She was supposed to find Caleb and use her emergency portkey to get them both to safety. Caleb wasn't supposed to be an older wizard who had obviously been using an aging potion to make himself a teenager once more. He was a part of their pack. No, her wolf growled fiercely at the thought, he was never our pack mate. You felt it; the way he would look at us. The darkness that always seemed to surround him.

She had; but Hermione hadn't thought much of it at the time. She had just believed he was a misunderstood teenager with severe anger management issues. How had she gotten it so wrong? How had she not smelled the potion in his system or his own magical signature?

The scent of warm milk and lavender moved closer until Hermione felt a tentative hand on her cheek. "I-it's going to be ok-ay," Lucy soothed her, "I'm going to h-help you."

Lucy made sure all of her movements were slow, trailing her hand from Hermione's cheek to her shoulder and slowly to her injured arm. Hermione kept her head buried in her shoulder, biting into the skin harshly to keep from screaming when Lucy suddenly poured some kind of cleaning solution onto her cuts. Her muffled cries made Lucy wince and the sight of blood running down Hermione's shoulders must have frightened the young woman even more as Hermione could hear her apologizing profusely.

She was gentle as she patched Hermione up the best she could manage. Hermione had managed to rasp out why the wound wouldn't stop bleeding and Lucy had cried as she wrapped the gauze around Hermione's arm as tightly as she could without completely hurting Hermione.

When she was done, Lucy began to clean up in silence, her eyes downcast as she cleaned up as much as she could manage.

"He'll know," Hermione whispered, the sound barely audible in the small cell but Lucy was close enough to hear her.

"I know," she replied resignedly.

"Why?"

Lucy looked up at her with large grey eyes, "b-because you don't d-deserve this."

"You don't know me," Hermione sighed, "for all you know, I could deserve this."

She shook her head, her eyes becoming stern, "he t-told me about y-you. H-he wouldn't ha-ave lied to me."

"Who?"

Lucy's smile was sad as she looked down at her swollen belly, "A-Andrew."

Hermione's eyes widened at the name and didn't need to know the last name to know who Lucy was talking about. Her maker; the young wolf that had bitten her all those years ago. He had left the pack five years ago when he had felt the pull to find his mate and no one had heard from him since. She couldn't believe that he would join Greyback willingly; not with how against violence Andrew had been.

"You're his mate," she said, already knowing the answer so not bothering to ask it as a question.

"Was," Lucy said sadly, her eyes filling with tears.

"How?" Hermione asked, her throat tightening.

"G-Greyback," she replied, "w-we tried to e-escape when I f-found out I was pregnant. Greyback f-found us and killed A-Andrew when he tried to f-fight back. H-he dragged me back h-here and said I-I'd be killed once t-the baby is born."

Hermione felt sick, a mixture of her earlier torture and the news just presented to her from the now sobbing woman. She felt the numbness that had been trying to drown her recede and be replaced by blinding rage and a strong urge to protect the mate and unborn child of her maker.

She felt the familiar surge of magic and hissed as it was repressed once more by the cuffs. "I'm going to help you," Hermione vowed, "I swear on my magic I will get you out of here."

Lucy met her gaze and smiled softly, "h-he said you were a g-good person."

"We need to leave tonight," Hermione said, already trying to form a plan in her head but knowing it would be useless whilst she was as weak as she currently felt. "I need my beaded bag," she continued, "but I don't know where they would have put it."

She felt tired, the blood loss threatening to send her into unconsciousness but Hermione fought it with everything she had. It wasn't just her life at risk anymore; it was Lucy's. Hermione didn't even want to think about what Greyback had planned for the unborn baby she currently carried inside of her and Hermione needed to work as fast as she could so unconsciousness would have to wait.

"I k-know where it is," Lucy said, already getting up, "I'll b-be right b-back."

And then she was gone.

Hermione sat back and tugged against the onyx cuffs restraining her. How am I going to get out of these? she sighed, flinching as pain tore through her arm. She pushed it down, locking it in a box and ignoring it the way she had taught herself to do with any kind of pain over the years. She could already hear David scolding her for blocking her pain receptors; telling her how they were important to let her know just how injured she was. But, she knew how injured she was; she just couldn't worry about it right now. Not when there were three lives at stake.

Her eyes drifted to the runes on the wall and, in her slightly blurred state, Hermione realised she had been reading it wrong. Had she had the strength or the will, she would have smiled as she realised just what needed to be done to free those in the Veil before her head snapped up at the sound of a terrified scream.

She didn't know how she recognized it as Lucy's but something inside of Hermione flared up at the sound of her in trouble.

"The heir will need a champion, a protector and a guide to help them until they are ready to ascend. You are that champion, little wolf."

Her magic flared, her wolf howled, and Hermione screamed as pain consumed her.

"The heir must be given a chance to live," the feminine voice said, echoing around the cell, "your first trial begins now. Protect the mother so the child may live."

Again, her magic flared and Hermione's pained scream mingled with Lucy's frightened one as a white glow surrounded her body before it rapidly moved towards the onyx cuffs. The cuffs shattered completely and Hermione felt herself fall forward, her Lycanthropy mixing with her magic to try and heal what it could. Her arms regained feeling much faster than they would have without the power boost and the boost of adrenaline helped clear her vision.

Hermione screamed again as her magic forced her change, her eyes shifting from amber to gold as her bones shifted to accommodate her rapidly shifting form. She had never changed forms other than a full moon; she didn't even think full transformations were possible and she never wanted to try it again as the pain flared to unbearable levels.

Eventually, her scream cut off into a howl as a wolf, much large than her usual form, stood in place of the witch. She was easily the size of a large bear and, had she been in her right frame of mind, Hermione would have realised that this size was contributed to her Alpha status; physical proof of what everyone had already known. Hermione shook her large head of the pain before another scream, this one filled with pain, filled the air and a terrifying growl fell from her mouth.

A burst of magic leaving her body had Hermione whimpering at the sharp pain before the sound of the cell wall completely exploding filled her ears.

She shook her head again to dislodge the debris that had been caused before she ran from the room, her massive paws soundless against the ground as she ran up the stairs leading out of the dungeon and burst through the doors and into the hall.

Shocked screams followed her revelation and Hermione snarled at the surrounding pack that was present in the hall. Some cowered, some growled back; the ones that challenged her easily backed down when she drew closer and her magic expanded to cover the room. Suddenly, everyone was in a mad dash for the doors leading out of the building she had been held in and Hermione felt the urge to chase her prey grow inside of her.

The witch managed to control the wolf enough to reason with it. They had to get Lucy. They needed to protect Lucy and the heir. She put her nose in the air and inhaled deeply, trying to sort through the many scents before she landed on the one she was looking for and she felt another growl leave her lips. The warm milk and lavender scent that Lucy carried was mingled with blood and it made Hermione's rage grow.

Whoever had her was making their way onto the grounds, dragging her behind them as she screamed for help.

Hermione didn't bother to find the door, she merely jumped through the largest available window before she bolted after the scent she knew she needed to follow. Power surged inside of her but Hermione pushed it down as she ran after the only person in this cursed place to show her kindness. Her makers mate. The mother who carried the heir of Lycaon. Did Lucy even know how important her child was? Did she have any idea that she was currently carrying a descendant of the oldest werewolf family in all of existence?

She didn't know and right now she didn't care as she leapt over a large brick fence and skidded to a halt in front of three people.

The two werewolves holding Lucy were at least double the size of Greyback and looked about as stupid as they come. However, they also looked like they were proficient in combat; or, at least, proficient in killing.

Any other day they might have stood a chance at beating her; but, at the site of the rapidly blackening eye on Lucy and the claw marks on her cheeks, Hermione knew that she was far angrier than they were.

The wolf wanted to kill the idiots that would dare lay a hand on Lucy and the witch decided, in that moment, to simply turn away and allow the wolf the retribution she sought.

Where her size had seemed to have scared the other betas shitless, the two wolves in front of her grinned up at her like she was some prized fight they had been hoping for. She watched as they threw Lucy aside; heard the sound of a bone breaking before Lucy screamed out in pain. Hermione snarled, her body lowering as her sharpened teeth were revealed to her prey who had removed their shirts and were partially transformed now.

They charged her at the same time and Hermione ran forward, only needing to take a handful of steps before her large head was flinging one of them into the wall she had just jumped as the other tried to get his large arms around her neck. Hermione's teeth clamped down on his torso, clenching tighter until the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth and she heard bones crunching beneath her teeth. The man screamed in pain, his arms releasing her before she shook him fiercely in her large mouth and tossed him aside.

She didn't have a moment to check on Lucy as the second wolf tackled her from the side, sending them both to the ground. Hermione snarled loudly when his teeth sunk into her neck as his sharpened claws dug into the side of her body. She howled when another set of teeth dug into the other side of her neck as claws scraped down the length of her face. Hermione felt her power pulse, sending the two men flying off into two directions as she got back to her paws.

Hermione allowed herself a second to look at Lucy and saw her face pinched with pain as she held her stomach. A scent reached her nose, one she had only smelt once and Hermione's eyes widened slightly when she realised Lucy's water had broken.

Her head snapped away from the petite woman when she heard footsteps running towards them and saw two more large men running from the forest, their bodies partially transformed as well.

They weren't just running for her though; they were running for Lucy and Hermione could hear more on their way. Knowing Lucy was her main priority, more so now than ever before, Hermione ran for the man that was rapidly approaching the woman and didn't hesitate before she locked her jaws around his neck and clenched her teeth tightly.

She tossed the body aside and got to her belly in front of the heavily breathing woman who was looking at her like she was the most terrifying thing in the entire world. Not that Hermione could blame her; she was sure she looked absolutely frightening at that moment but she also knew that they needed to go.

She looked into Lucy's eyes and felt her eyes flicker once. Hermione watched as Lucy's eyes widened before she shakily got to her feet.

Hermione used her head to help the struggling woman onto her back and once Lucy informed her that she was on; Hermione took off into the forest as fast as she could.

She ignored the tight grip Lucy had on the fur near her neck; ignored the way her nails dug into one of her fresh bites. The bites wouldn't heal; even when not a full moon, werewolf bites had enough venom in them to make it near impossible for their bites to heal. Her face would scar too but Hermione would eventually get over it.

It was hard to manoeuvre in the forest at the size she was but Hermione's sheer size meant she could easily crash through the thick brush that surrounded her. Lucy's head was buried in her neck, shielding her face from stray branches as she whimpered every now and again. Hermione had never been in so much pain; not even when Bellatrix was torturing her, but she continued to push down the magic trying to surge up within her. She refused to hurt Lucy and she couldn't lose control until Lucy was safe.

When she could no longer hear the footsteps of their pursuers, Hermione final stopped and allowed Lucy to get down from her back. She bit her tongue to keep from howling as she changed back.

Ignoring Lucy's frightened and awed gaze, Hermione ran to the petite woman and grabbed her beaded bag. The emergency portkey was easy enough to find and Hermione pulled out the little button and held onto it tightly as she gasped. The pain was like nothing she had ever felt before and it was getting worse as her power got stronger.

"Here," Hermione breathed, placing the button in Lucy's hand and making sure she had a firm grasp on it. She placed her beaded bag around Lucy's shoulders and made sure it wouldn't be lost during the portkey.

"Y-you're h-hurt," Lucy stuttered and Hermione darted to where her frightened eyes were looking.

She could already feel the pull of the three deep scratches across her face and her eyes fell on the largest of the two bites which was flooding with blood. Hermione grimaced at the pain that came from the bite now that she was aware of it before she turned her gaze in the direction they had just come from. The footsteps were getting closer again and they wouldn't have much time.

"This," she said quickly, pointing at the button held tightly in Lucy's hand, "is a portkey. It'll take you somewhere safe. You'll be taken to the home of a very good friend of mine; his name is Harry. Harry Potter."

"I-I'm not leaving y-you," Lucy tried to argue before she doubled over as a contraction overtook her.

"You are," Hermione said firmly, gritting her teeth to keep from crying out as her body began to feel like it was burning up from the inside, "tell Harry; Hermione sent you. Tell him December 25th, 1997; he'll know what you mean and he'll know I sent you."

"I d-don't…"

"Polyjuice," Hermione said, interrupting whatever protest Lucy was going to give her and watching as she vanished from sight.

Hermione stood, her eyes still glowing gold and white light beginning to surround her body once more. She looked around the clearing and smiled ruefully as she realised that she recognized it. It was the clearing she had seen in her dream. Looking down she saw that she was standing in the exact spot the woman had been pointing to in her dream. The burning grew stronger and Hermione felt her knees buckle from beneath her.

She grunted as her knees hit the ground, the rocks and twigs scratching at her naked skin. The footsteps got louder until two dozen or more werewolves entered the clearing. They were all partially transformed; men and women who smelt of corrupted earth and death. The women sneered and the men leered as they walked closer to her glowing figure.

"The little bitch got away," one of the women sneered to a man that was standing next to her, "Greyback will not be pleased."

"He'd be even less pleased if he lost his little toy," another man grunted from somewhere behind Hermione, "think he'd know if I played with her for a bit before we brought her back?"

"Don't be a fool, Luke," an older woman hissed, "our alpha has already laid claim to the little tramp; only he will have the right to fuck her."

Their voices were slowly drowned out by the white noise filling Hermione's ears as she struggled to stand once more. If she were going down; she would go down with her head held high and not being towered over by the pathetic betas present. She was an Alpha, and she would go down like an Alpha.

"She did a full transformation and it's not even a full moon," another woman commented, "how is that even possible?"

"How was she so big? I thought Greyback said she was a beta," another demanded.

"Who cares; just grab the bitch and get back to the compound. We still need to get everyone else who decided they wanted to abandon our alpha when he so graciously spared their pathetic lives."

Hermione heard one of the men approaching her; felt his hand roughly grab her arm before he pulled back with a pained scream.

"She fucking burnt me!" he screamed as he doubled over.

She lifted her head, facing the majority of the werewolves that had come after her.

"Enough," the older woman spoke clearly, "you will return to your cell or I'll be forced to hurt you long before your master as a chance to."

Hermione cocked her head as a sharp-toothed grin crossed her face before the glowing around her body stopped. She heard them all rush her at once; thinking she had given up but Hermione knew better. She had felt when the magic had receded only to know exactly what came next.

"You have done well, little wolf," came the woman's voice as everything seemed to slow down, "let go, Hermione. Let go."

She threw her head back as a scream tore from her throat, her arms held out to the sides of her body as everything went white.

Um, okay? I thought it was okay, right? Anyway; yes, this was the magical explosion Lavender had been talking about and we will see just how far-reaching and devastating that was in the next chapter. Also, Sirius, Fred, Alice, and Frank will also be making an appearance in the next chapter. Yay! Anyone else excited or just me?

Just to clear things up, Greyback and Caleb were not present during that magical explosion and will have quite a few more chapters in this story. Caleb especially will play a big part in future chapters and we will also have an appearance from Dolohov.

Caleb had been taking an aging potion to make him younger and a scent dampening potion to hide the electric scent that wolves smell on wizards.

We will also see What happened when Harry and Ron reached the library and when Lucy appeared before Harry as well. So, next chapter is going to be pretty lengthy and have multiple POV's just to warn you all.

Don't forget to follow so you never miss a chapter and drop me a comment.

I will see all of you in the next chapter xx