As I crawled, openly sobbing with fear and pain, I felt like all sides of the dark tunnel were pressing in on me. Claustrophia and panic were pushing me onwards. Little by little. Painful inch by inch. Only when I reached the free, fresh open air common sense hit me and I remembered I was a witch. Stuttering out, "Episky," and pointing my wand at my ankle, I moaned as some of the throbbing pain relieved. I put my hand on a small circular piece of tree root and hoisted myself out of the tunnel. I heard the tree stiffen against the breeze.

Cold wind fluttered around my face and I cried out with joy. Hogwarts. I was on Hogwarts grounds. The castle loomed before me in the twilight, the windows of light offering me more happiness than I could imagine. Leaving the roots behind, I inched forward, the dew covered grass feeling soft under my scratched palms. I wasn't sure how far I crawled before I collapsed, my face breathing in the scent of the wet grass.

"Help," I whispered, knowing that no one would likely find me until daybreak. "Someone… Lily… Sirius… Help…"
I adjusted my grip on my wand, knowing I only had one way of sending someone a message and tried to think of something happy. "Expecto Patronum…." Nothing happened. I tried again, focusing on Sirius's face and squeezed my hand tight around my wand. A small sliver of light escaped it. Not enough. Black dots spotted my vision. The last thing I thought was of the howling of wolf in the far distance.

…

I was dreaming of a warm hand in mine and the smell of freshly washed sheets. From the chair where he sat, Sirius had his head on my bed asleep, clutching my hand tightly. His dark curls were tickling my forearm and I could faintly smell wet grass. Somewhere over to my left, I could hear Madam Pomfrey tutting and fussing over three other boys.
"Honestly, I don't know how you boys get in these messes," came her impatient voice.
"I ask myself the same thing every day, ma'am." That sounds like James.
"Well drink this and be on your way. You too Pettigrew. Let Lupin rest now."

I felt too dazed and weak to speak, let alone make a move. With closed eyes, I heard footsteps over to where I lay and a slight movement as James shook Sirius's shoulder.
"Come on, mate. Leave them to rest."
The warmth left my hand and it took all of my courage not to reach out my fingers and cry out.
"How the hell did this happen, Prongs?" I heard Sirius mumble out sleepily, brimming with disbelief and hurt. A light touch of a finger ran in a line underneath my eye.
James sighed and pulled his friend away, "I don't know. But they're both safe now. We can worry once we've all had some sleep, okay?"

As three pairs of footsteps echoed in my mind, my dream changed and the footsteps turned into heavy paws landing on a wooden floor. Darkness fell all around me and I was tumbling through the air so fast that I could not see through my hair and every twist felt like razors slicing into my skin. I tried to scream, but the only noise in my head was the pounding of the wolf, chasing me down and down and down. I saw a splintery end to my tunnel far down below me and tried to flap my arms to slow down. Panic had taken over my body and kept a tight hold on my throat. I daren't look over my shoulder for the belief that the wolf was right behind me, just waiting.

A split second before I collided with the ground, my eyes flew open and my mouth opened wide with a high pitched scream. I curled my hands into fists and kicked my legs against the white sheets trapping me in a bed. Just as I leaned back to take in a deep breath, my ankle started throbbing from all my thrashing about. Choking on another scream, mixed with a sob, I saw Madam Pomfrey running towards me, her arms outstretched. Oh god. Just a dream. It was just a dream. I'm safe in the Hospital Wing. Oh lord.
"Miss Carter, my dear, you're okay," She reassured me, placing both hands on my shoulders and forcing me to sit back.
I shakily tried to fix my breathing and uncurled my hands, feeling slightly sick at the beads of blood that I had caused to appear in my palms.
I let Madam Pomfrey fuss over my ankle, applying another dressing of god knows what and simply stared at the blood in my hands. All the reality of the past night came flooding into my mind. I almost died. I could have died. There's a werewolf somewhere near Hogwarts. I could have died.
"Here, you'll want to drink this," the matron told me after she was done fixing my wounds, even applying a cream that caused the fresh cuts on my hands to scab over immediately.
"What is it?" I asked, my voice embarrassingly crackly.
"Calming draft," came the reply before a small vial of liquid was placed in my hands.
I took it down in one and shivered.

"How long do I have to stay here?" I asked, as the matron poured out some water into a cup on the bedside table.
"You're ankle should be back to normal by the end of the day, but," she paused and peered at me, "It's the post-trauma I'm more worried about."
I gulped and tried my best not to look bothered, "…You mean the waking up screaming?"
Madam Pomfrey looked at me pitifully for a moment. Then she smiled warmly and patted my shoulder kindly.
"Don't worry, you can leave tomorrow, but I'll give you a bottle of Calming Draft and a sleeping potion to take with you, just in case."
I nodded, a lump forming in my throat, before tilting my head back and filling my lungs with air.

The matron moved over to treat someone over to my left. They were shielded with curtains, so I couldn't see who it was, and when she spoke to them, they conversed in soft voices. I remembered what I was dreaming of before things took a dark turn. The boys were here. My left hand twitched. Sirius was here, holding my hand. That part must have been a dream, surely.

…

Around mid-afternoon, I had my head tucked in a book that Lily had brought me earlier. She had come bearing chocolate from her morning trip to Honeydukes and a much needed hug. After I hadn't returned to the dorms last night, she had grown worried and asked around for any news. When morning came and there was still no sign, the Hospital Wing had been her first stop. Madam Pomfrey had told her that I was asleep and to return later. Which she did! With chocolate. And my favourite book. God, I could not love that girl more.

The doors to the Wing flew open and I raised my eyes, half expecting Lily to have returned with the other girls from our dorm. However, I let out a half groan, half smile as I saw two boys saunter in as if they owned the place.
I became very aware that my hair must look like I had been dragged through a bush. One hand flew to my fringe, while I tried hard to have not noticed their entrance.

"Erin!" James Potter grinned at me, lopsidedly as they made their way over.
"Fancy seeing you here," I retort, sighing and folding the book into my lap.
"How you doing?" The other boy asked, pulling up a chair to the side of my bed and plonking himself in it. Finding it hard to look at Sirius without blushing, the dream of his hand in mine so vivid, I kept my eyes on James as he perched on the end of my bed, making sure first that he wasn't about to sit on my feet.
"All the better for your company, as usual," I said coolly.
"We brought you gifts from Hogsmede," Sirius said, chucking a huge bar of chocolate in my direction. I caught it swiftly and beamed at him.
"You sure know how to treat a girl! Mmm, thank you!" He winked at me as I tore open the corner and broke off a piece. Caramel oozed onto my fingers as I popped the chunk into my mouth. "Ugh, so good. You guys want some?"
Both boys shook their heads.
"No, thanks. We're sick of the stuff after hanging around Moony so long," James smiled, kicking his legs out.
I smiled back, "Where is he anyway? I'm offended that he's not gathered around my sick bed."
They share a glance, but before I can even narrow my eyes, Sirius breaks out in a huge smile.
"The idiot went and got himself injured in a prank we were planning. Let's just say it involved Moony getting a face full of a stinging hex," he explained, motioning to the curtained section to my left.
I guffawed and popped another chunk of chocolate in my mouth.

"We'd best see how he is. Peter wanted a detailed analysis for when he gets out of his detention later," James snorts before gracefully leaping off the end of the bed. "Coming, Pads?"
Sirius chewed at his lip for a moment, as if he wanted to say something more, but after a glance at James, he broke into a wide grin and stood.
"Yeah. Glad you're alright anyway," Sirius said sincerely, half raising his hand before hesitating and dropping it to his side again.
I let myself look at him for longer than I would normally, a small smile on my lips.
James was almost over to Lupin's curtained area when he turned and called back to me, "Oh, make sure you casually mention to Lily how incredibly kind and caring I was when I heard you were injured."
He winked and I replied in a dramatic voice, placing a hand to my cheek, "Something like: Oh Lily, he was showering me with flowers! There were a hundred cherubs singing around my bed, and chocolates were raining from the ceilings! How that James Potter cried for hours at my side!"

James and Sirius roared with laughter and I could see James shaking his head as he disappeared out of view. Sirius gave my shoulder a quick squeeze before following after his friend, a smile stretched across his face. I bit my lip and tucked my knees up to my chest, my book now left forgotten.

I must have woken as they brought Remus in earlier this morning. Poor guy, Stinging Hexes are really painful. And aren't exactly a beautification. No wonder he'd chosen to have hidden behind the curtains.

And then it hit me. A question I hadn't yet asked. My heart pounded in my ribs.

"M-Madam Pomfrey?" I called out for the matron.
She was over to my side in a moment, "Yes, dear?"
I could hardly speak, "W-who- I mean, how- how did I get here? Who f-found me? I was in the grounds and…"
I felt another bottle of Calming Draft be placed in my hands as the matron looked me right in the eyes.
"I did. I found you, dear. I was walking that way and happened upon you."
The anti-climax brought my jittery nerves back down.
"Oh. Oh… I thought maybe…" My eyes betrayed me as they strayed over to the direction James and Sirius went. "Never mind." I swallowed the contents of the bottle and nodded my thanks.
"Best get some sleep," She advised, stroking my hair.
I did as I was told, making sure to drink the dreamless sleep potion so that no werewolves could haunt my dreams.