Demon of the Dark - Chapter One
Concern, and worry, rushed through Headmaster Dumbledore's mind as he led the search party through the Forbidden Forest. When he was first told about the missing students, he had shrugged it aside. Children were always full of mischief, and adventure, so it wasn't uncommon for them to disappear for a few hours at a time. Particularly the current missing batch. Then it reached twenty-four hours, and the children were still nowhere to be seen. That's when the worry first started setting in, but he was still not overly concerned. Trials, and tribulations, were a part of aging, and he trusted these students to overcome any adversity. They were some of his brightest pupils after all. Albus really started worrying when a little first year Hufflepuff informed them that she had seen the students go into the forest the day before. Spending the night in the forest was a task even fully grown wizards would hesitate to do. He knew full well the dangers that lurked within. Fifth years, albeit six of the most talented ones of recent times, weren't really equipped to deal with such difficulties.
With this in mind, Dumbledore had immediately approved a search party composed of a majority of the teachers, and seventh year students, leaving only a few behind to maintain order. The longer the search went on, the more his heart sunk. The deeper parts of the forest held creatures unknown, even to him, and places that the centaurs dared not tread. The one saving grace so far was Hagrid's confirmation that the students had not entered the Acromantula nest, giving Albus some hope.
Glancing up at the steadily rising moon, he sighed as he got ready to call off the search for the night. It was no use losing more people in the dangerous conditions, and the likelihood of finding them in the dark was extremely low. Brushing a branch aside in a sweeping gesture, he lofted his wand slightly higher, hoping the penetrating light atop the tip would shine upon any clue. Dread filled the air, and the optimistic search party had long gone silent. None feeling right to joke around in such conditions. Searching the wary look of the seventh year next to him, Albus sighed deeply. He hoped they found the students soon, and in good condition. For their sake, and the sake of the other students searching for them. They were all much to young to be involved in such things, sadly he had no other choice. The forest was a large area to search, and they needed all wands available.
"Albus!" His Transfiguration Mistress shrieked, and his hope flickered out. He recognised that tone of voice, even echoed through the trees as it was. It was the same tone he heard in his nightmares every night, a tone that rung through the battlefield during Grindelwald's War. Filled with fear, shock, dismay, and tinge of anger. A tone that survivors used when they looked upon devastation, and wondered why not them. Closing his eyes briefly to steel himself, knowing that those around him needed his calm leadership at the moment, he made his way to her with dread filled steps.
To his absolute shock, one of the missing students was standing before Minerva McGonagall. The hope rekindled within him, though as he neared closer more of the student's features could be seen in detail. The moon casting an eerie shadow across their visage. A gash was opened across their head, dried blood matting their hair and staining their pale face. Their robes were torn, with splotches of crimson and brown all over, one sleeve ripped off entirely, and the bottom frayed. One leg favoured the other, wrapped haphazardly in muddy bandages with a lopsided splint, obviously a hastily conjured one. It pained Albus to see one of his students in such a state, his heart thudded loudly in his chest as his mind produced images of what the person before him might have gone through. Each image worse than the last.
Reaching forward, he grasped them by the shoulders, and looked them in the eye. He barely repressed a shudder at the dead look gazing at him, as if the child had had all life taken from them.
"What happened? Where are the others?" He questioned gently, but with anxiousness he was sure he failed to hide. The student's brow furrowed as if in confusion, though his eyes displayed no change.
"They're dead. They're all dead." The child's voice was devoid of emotion. Albus closed his eyes in pain, as he heard Minerva let out a strangled gasp from behind him.
"Dead." The survivor whispered once more, their voice unbearably loud in the silent clearing.
Remus eyed the trees surrounding him warily, goosebumps flowing freely down his arms. He flinched sharply when something came to rest on his back, only to realise it was Peter quivering behind him in fright. Remus gave his friend a comforting smile, hoping it would quell his nerves. He, himself, was quivering just as much as the smaller boy on the inside. The crescent moon barely lit the path before them in the Forbidden Forest, and only caused the shadows to grow deeper, more ominous. He had only recently realised he had life long friends in his fellow Marauders, and now he was going to die in a forest with them. Hearing Peter whimper, he tried to shake the morbid thoughts away from himself.
"I'm scared." Peter whispered to their group. Remus understood the feeling. It was only their fifth year at Hogwarts, and unfortunately, they had gotten lost in the most dangerous are of the school. Thankfully, they were a relatively large group. All the fifth year Gryffindor boys; James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and himself, of course. As well as the incredibly talented Lily Evans, and also the currently sneering Severus Snape.
Snape snorted derisively, "House of the Brave."
"What did you say, Snivellus?" James demanded, his hazel eyes flashing with annoyance. Remus repressed a sigh; the situation was difficult enough without those two at each other's throats like normal. Severus went to reply, but Lily cut across first.
"Enough! We have too many problems as it is without your petty fights." She unknowingly echoed Remus's own thoughts. Snape's black eyes glared mutinously for a moment, before turning away in a huff. Remus quickly smacked James over the head when he noticed the other smirking victoriously.
"Lily's right. We haven't been to this part of the forest before. There could be many dangers that could catch us unaware." He warned, causing Peter to whimper once more. "Just have your wands ready."
"We wouldn't be here if Snivellus wasn't stalking us." Sirius growled, sounding very much like his recently discovered Animagus form. Remus felt a smile come unbidden to his face as he remembered the lengths his friends had went too once they had found out he was a werewolf. It had taken them three long years, but they had finally all managed to transform, even Peter whose talents lay outside the wand waving subjects. Still, he wished Padfoot wouldn't antagonise the Slytherin whilst they were in this concerning situation.
"I wouldn't follow you if you weren't up to something." Snape drawled back unconcernedly.
"What we do is none of your concern." James answered, ruffling his dark brown hair with one hand. Remus felt a little bit of guilt at their situation. After all, they had come to the forest to practice their Animagus transformations. Then they had only went deeper instead of confronting the Slytherin that had followed them at his urgings. He had wanted to avoid the fight, and James had surprisingly for once agreed, perhaps not wanting Lily involved. Before too long their game of cat and mouse had gotten them lost in the far reaches of the forest.
"Guys, can we work out what exactly we should be doing to get out of here." Peter pointed out, his voice quivering. They all quietened for a moment as they contemplated their options.
"I think it's best if we set up camp for the night. It'll be too dangerous walking around in the dark, and we wouldn't even know if we were going in the right direction." James spoke, showing no nerves at the idea. That was something Remus had always admired about him; he really was the epitome of the House of the brave. He also conceded that James had a point, and as much as he didn't like it, staying put until sunlight was probably their best option.
"I don't want to stay overnight." Peter whined.
"Can't we shoot up red sparks? Surely someone would see it, and investigate." Lily suggested, and Remus found himself nodding along in agreement. Hopefully someone had noticed they had gone missing by now, and were out searching for them considering it had been hours and the moon was now out. Sure, their dorm was empty, but Lily's and Snape's were full of other students that would be suspicious of their missing roommates.
"Or something more sinister will." Snape replied, "As much as I hate to admit it, Potter is right for once. I suppose a broken clock is still right twice a day." His face scrunched up in disgust. Remus had to hide a snort at James' matching look.
With quiet murmurs they all agree to the plan. It was a bit difficult to find a spot to stop, as a large part of the floor seemed to become swampy beneath their feet. Eventually, they stumbled into a clearing, and got to work building a camp. James used his amazing transfiguration skills to turn a few branches into benches, and even fashion a rough shelter to shield them from the wind. Sirius helped him, as he was also quite talented in the field, conjuring a few blankets. Remus felt a bit awkward, standing there with Peter uselessly to the side. Unfortunately, his talent laid in Defence Against the Dark Arts, and Wormtail's in Runes and Potions. All quite useless when it came to setting up a camp. He felt slightly better when he saw Snape also scowling off to the side.
Finally, they had a camp, with Lily lighting a ball of Bluebell flames in the centre which they huddled gratefully around for warmth. The flames cast a few eerie shadows, but they all felt better for them. An uncomfortable silence permeated the air with Snape sitting as far away from them as he could, though still nearby Lily, his eyes locked in a glaring contest with Sirius'. Peter was twitching anxiously at every sound, and James was blatantly ogling Lily. Remus almost facepalmed at the sight. No wonder the vivacious red-head always rejected him.
"I should do a perimeter search, and set up some defences." James announced suddenly, startling Wormtail so much that he fell over.
"We'd be dead by dawn if we relied on you." Snape sneered instantly, and Remus wondered if the other boy was purposely ignoring the fact that James had been the most helpful so far.
"Severus!" Lily shouted, slapping him on the shoulder. "I'll go with you James."
"I won't allow Potter to go traipsing through the forest alone with you." Snape declared, and Remus rolled his eyes.
"Won't allow?!" Lily demanded, her face going red in anger, "You don't get to allow anything. I can choose for myself."
The greasy-haired teen let out what Remus deemed a long-suffering sine. "Fine, I will bring along my expertise."
"Like hell you will, Dark Wizard." Sirius barked, jumping to his feet. "I'll go with them."
Moony shook his head in dismay, why couldn't they just get along for one night.
"Potter, and you, bumbling around at night, we might get fortunate enough for you to not return." Snape drawled. With a howl of rage, Sirius launched himself across the clearing, his wand sparking angrily. Snape was quick to draw his own wand in return.
"Both of you will stay." Lily decided, "Remus, you can come with us."
She had no idea how desperately he wanted to accept, but glancing between the two enraged wizards he just knew he couldn't. "Perhaps leaving Padfoot and Snape alone with just Peter would be a mistake."
"Wormtail, go with them!" Sirius demanded, still eyeing Snape furiously. Both Snape, and Wormtail, looked ready to protest, however a stern look from the female of their group stopped them in their tracks.
"C'mon Peter, it'll be an adventure." James chuckled, swinging an arm around the shorter boy's shoulders. As the three of them left the clearing, Remus stared after them with dread filling his stomach. He had the feeling that something was going to go very wrong. The werewolf inside him was growling anxiously, and Remus always knew to trust his feelings.
Peter made sure he was tucked away between James, and Lily. He was sure Prongs was annoyed at him getting between them, but this was a matter of life or death. No way was he going to just stumble along at the front, or the back, to get eaten by some terrible monster whilst his obliviously flirting friends continued on their merry way. Ignoring the filthy look James gave him, Peter clutched his wand tightly in his sweating palm.
The conversation was stilted, and the air awkward as James tried to flirt, Lily was semi-ignoring him, and Peter just wanted to get back to their camp as soon as possible. This was without a doubt one of the worst days of his life. He wanted to practice their transformations in the dorm rooms, but did anyone ever listen to him? No, they always just dragged him along on their adventures. Peter knew he wasn't as talented as them all, nor as brave, but they didn't seem to realise that. Instead, he was pulled into things and just expected to survive with his meagre magical skills. In one of their earlier Hogwarts years, he had vowed to one day be as strong as them, and drag them into adventures. Unfortunately, as the years progressed the gulf between their skills widened, and he felt they were leaving him behind. It wouldn't be long before they had no use for him altogether, and dumped him as a waste of space. Remus would deny such thoughts, Peter knew, but he had always caught the annoyed looks Sirius gave him when he slowed them down. Even James only kept him around for the hero worship, of this Peter was sure. What other reason could the perfect Potter heir have to hang around him.
The musings actually managed to distract him slightly from the precarious position they found themselves in. He just wished he was better at his Animagus transformation. He could turn into the rat, but sadly it took him several minutes, and about twenty-five percent of the time he got stuck halfway. It wouldn't be long until he had perfected it, but it was relatively unusable in this situation. Of course, James had already accomplished it to the degree that he could change instantly, and do it every time. Sirius wasn't as bad as Peter, but was closer to mastering the skill.
Meanwhile, James had just laid his first trap. A magically carved pit, with leaves covering it.
"Hopefully if anything comes towards our camp it'll drop in the pit." He informed them. Lily smiled in acceptance, and waved her wand. Peter watched in awe as an illusion glittered down upon the trap, completely hiding it in a way that even he couldn't tell it was there anymore. There was a reason she was Flitwick's favourite student.
"That's amazing." James muttered, his eyes hovering over the ground as if looking for a flaw in the charm. To Peter's surprise, Lily blushed in response.
"Thank you, your transfiguration is great too. I couldn't do anything like you did back at the camp."
'Don't brag, don't brag, don't brag.' Peter mentally urged his fellow Marauder. Sirius wouldn't believe that he was missing this.
Prongs opened his mouth with a cocky grin, paused, closed it again. Then sheepishly muttered out a "Thanks." As he rubbed the back of his head.
Marvelling at what he had just witnessed, Peter found himself following his two blushing schoolmates. Perhaps this was just what James needed to finally woo the girl of his dreams? A part of him was frustrated, of course James Potter was also going to get the girl. He didn't know why he had doubted him for so long.
The nearby hooting of a howl broke his attention, and he spun around with his wand up. Once more realising just where he was, and the dangers that lurked around every corner. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and he felt as if he was being watched. Was that a growl coming from the bush? Or was he imagining things? His knees were shaking as he desperately searched for his source of discomfort.
There, at the edge of some water, was something glittering. A bright yellow colour, Peter was amazed he didn't spot it earlier. With trembling steps, he moved closer, feet sinking into the slightly swampy ground. Perhaps it was money? Though he had no idea how it could have ended up out this far. A shaking hand reached out to grasp it, his mind honed in on nothing but the shining colour.
It was the growl that broke him out of his daze first. A low rumbling one that seemed to vibrate the floor that he was standing upon. It was then that Peter came to the awful conclusion that the shining yellow light was in fact the eyes of some terrible beast. Long, and serpentine, with slimy green scales. Looking like a swamp serpent coming at him with death in its eyes.
With a yelp, Peter scrambled backwards. His feet lost traction in the mud, and with another squeak he fell onto the floor. Still, he continued trying to crawl backwards as the beast drew near, sliding out the water with a light splash.
'I'M GOING TO DIE!' Peter screamed within his head. Before his eyes the serpent shivered violently, and began to transform. The body become shorter, and stockier, as muscles condensed. Within seconds his foe was now a horse, slime oozing down its flanks, and wet plants hanging off a stringy mane blending in with the sickly green colour of its skin.
With a will he didn't know he possessed, Peter managed to stumble to his feet, and start running after James and Lily. The two had gotten separated from him without his knowledge, and were now barely visible in the distance.
"JAMES!" Peter screamed, terror flooding his body, and hearing the dreaded thunder of hooves from behind him.
James Potter was on cloud nine. Sure, the whole being stuck in the Forbidden Forest at night with Snivellus Snape wasn't ideal. It definitely wasn't his idea of a good time. However, currently, he was actually maintaining a conversation with Lily Evans, the love of his life. It was all he could do not to burst into a song and dance, he would just have to wait until they were back in the privacy of their dorms.
"How are you feeling about the O.W.L's?" James questioned. Usually, he wouldn't bother with such a topic, but he knew the upcoming exams were important to her, and for that he would try. He almost made an audible cooing sound as she nibbled on her lip in concentration, in just the way he so loved about her. Oh, how much he wished he could just hold her, hug her tight, and run his hand through her shiny red hair. With a great amount of willpower, he shrugged off such thoughts, and instead focused on her answer.
"I think I'm prepared. I'm not as confident as I would like with Herbology or Arithmancy, but I'm certain I will do well in Potions, Charms, and Ancient Runes. How about yourself?" She answered.
Puffing himself up, James was all ready to brag about how he didn't even need to study, but then he remembered a comment that Remus has made recently. 'Perhaps Lily would like you more if you showed some humility.'. It was worth a try.
"I'm sure I can ace Transfiguration, but I'm not as naturally talented as your brilliance in Potions. Hopefully, I can still squeak by though." He responded, and was delighted in the flush that filled her cheeks at his compliment. Already he was hearing the wedding bells going off in his head, ignoring what he dubbed his Moony voice telling him that he was getting ahead of himself once more.
After a few seconds of silence, James caught Lily glancing at him with her beautiful emerald eyes as he was glancing at her. Ignoring the slight discomfort of getting caught, he instead gave her a crooked grin.
"Perhaps when we get back to the castle, we can go over our Herbology together?" He offered.
"I…" She hesitated for moment, "I'd like that." And she gave him a small smile in response.
James felt like his heart was going to burst, it was like all his dreams come true at once. This was the single greatest moment of his life. Better than winning the Quidditch Cup, better than being sorted in Gryffindor, and even better than becoming a Stag Animagus.
"JAMES!" Wormtail's scream brought him out of his ponderings, and he growled slightly as he spun to see what was causing the other boy to interrupt his perfect moment. He gasped simultaneously with Lily as the spotted the demonic looking horse charging after his panicked friend.
Without a second thought, James charged forward and threw a stunner at the best. He winced slightly when the red light splashed across the skin with no effect other than causing a slight stumble. Magically enhanced skin, great. James wasn't sure what he was dealing with here, creatures were always more Remus' thing, but surely beating one magic horse couldn't be too hard. The beast had come to a stop bare feet away from him, one hoof scratching at the ground in anticipation. He could hear Lily, and Peter, shifting nervously behind him.
The thing took a step forward, and James took one back. At this close he could see the creature's teeth. Razor sharp, and gleaming white. He knew instantly he didn't want to be any near them. Deciding he would strike first; he flourished his wand trying to transfigure the ground underneath its feet. However, quick as a flash, it lurched forward before he could finish. Its front hooves lashed out, and one slapped into his casting arm with a solid thud.
Shrieking in pain, James watched in helpless silence as his wand flew from his grasp, and landed behind him in front of Peter. Holding his arm painfully, concerned it may be broken, he warily eyed the beast in front of him.
"Wormtail, my wand." James hissed through gritted teeth, but he got not reply.
"Please Peter, my wand." He pleaded, watching as the horse reared up, and down right in front of him.
"S…s…sorry." Peter whimpered, and spun around, running away into the distance. One foot catching on the wand, and kicking it into the darkness as he retreated. James cursed his cowardly friend, and shared a feared filled look with Lily.
"Lily, get the others and run. I'll hold it off." He ordered with confidence he didn't feel.
"James…" Lily whispered hesitantly.
"Please. Just get home safe. I'll hold it off as long as I can." He took a moment to drink in the sight of her, the beautiful red hair he loved so much, and the shining emerald eyes that he always longed to have watching him.
Forcing himself to turn away, he faced the charging beast. With a grunt he forced himself to change form. It was much harder to change without his wand, but he was determined to succeed. Within moments he had become a large stag, rivalling the horse in size. One of his front legs ached from the pain of the earlier blow, but he pushed through it and clashed with his opponent. Satisfaction filled him as he saw his antlers gorge a small hole in the beast's shoulder, but then he shuddered as the monster latched onto one of his legs with its mouth. The shining teeth easily ripping through his skin, and muscles, grinding against the bone. Whining from the pain, he managed to shove it away with his rack, and took an unsteady step back. The leg barely able to hold any weight.
The beast gave him no respite, and reared once more, hooves flashing in the moonlight. With another painful thud they crashed into his head before he could dodge, and with a crash he collapsed to the floor. Perhaps if he was more used to this form, he could've put up a better fight, but he had been in it only a scant few times, and had never used it to fight. Moony refusing to allow them to come on the full moon until they had full control. Something he now knew he would never have.
James thought he could hear a girl screaming in the distance, but the ringing in his ears was overriding nearly anything. Dazed, in pain, and confused, he could do nothing but watch as the creature lowered over him. Razor-sharp blood-soaked teeth neared his throat.
'This is the end.' He thought with stunning clarity, 'I'm okay with it, as long as Lily got away safe with the others. Please Merlin, them be safe.'
With a crunch, James Potter breathed his last, his form slowly reverting back into the school boy he was.
A/N: This story is going to be a short Horror story. Between 20,000-30,000 words, and 4-5 chapters. As you can tell by Dumbledores original POV, and then the ending of this chapter, I'm not planning on this being a happy story. Instead I'm going for a story more similar to the movie 'Rogue', but a Harry Potter version. As I'm sure many of you can tell, the creature in this fic is in fact a Kelpie.
I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, and that you found my characterizations alright. If you enjoy this story, please consider checking out my other stories.
Also on my profile is a list of story ideas for HP fanfictions. Feel free to read it, and possibly use it for inspiration, I would just like to be informed first.
Lastly, please read, follow/favourite, and review.
