A/N: I know this is a shorter chapter, but stopping it here was the best that I could do to keep the small amount of flow it has. Hopefully, the next chapter will be more dialogue and explanations about what is going on.

Please let me know what you think :)

October 31st, 1986, Privet Drive

Night had fallen on the quiet suburban area, and as with every Halloween, Dudley Dursley was getting ready to go out trick or treating with his mum and his friends. It was the opposite with Harriet; she would be spending the night answering the door and handing out the sweeties so that her uncle did not need to bother with children. He was currently sitting in front of the television with a large brandy in one hand. Occasionally he would complain about the noise of the children out on the street, or call her through and shout about the way she was handling the people at the door. Though if Harriet was completely honest this was better than any alternative that she could think of.

The only thing that was not very pleasant was the look of pity that she got from most of the Adults who were at the door showing the other children around. More than one had complimented on her 'costume' and asked if she was doing Oliver Twist. She just nodded in agreement, not really understanding what they meant but agreeing made sure her Uncle did not have to get involved and that kept him happy. What kept him happy also meant that she was for the most part safe from any potential fallout caused by his unhappiness.

Despite being a rather small neighborhood, the number of the people who visited throughout the evening was quite impressive. Harriet did her bit in handing out the small bags of sweets, peanuts and caramel apples that she had prepared earlier in the day as part of her chores. She was exhausted by the time Dudley, his friends and Petunia returned for the evening.

She was thankful that she was quickly ushered back into her cupboard under the stairs; she had managed to sneak a small sweet earlier from one of the bags and was looking forward to enjoying it once the rest of the family had headed off to bed. It was one of the only small pleasures that she had found for herself in recent times. It had been getting worse to live here recently, her Aunt and Uncle almost seemed to be scared of her, and it was always the same around Halloween she had noticed. They became tense and her Uncle would drink more at home, which was bad because he was much less controlled when this was the case and it would usually result in more than one beating for her.

It was late almost midnight by the time that the Dursley's finally went off to bed. Dudley had spent most of the night screaming at his parents demanding that they allow him to stay up and eat as much as he wanted; this was exactly what they had done of course. Not caring that their niece was sitting along in a cupboard desperately wanting for even the slightest bit of attention.

When Harriet finally got up the courage to emerge from the safety of her cupboard she was meet with a full moon shining its light through the kitchen windows. She entered and quietly as she could get a glass to have a drink of water. As long as she was quiet and cleaned up once she was finished her relatives would never know that she had taken it. Using the small stool she filled the glass, staring out of the window as she did. That was when she saw it for the first time. Standing in the middle of the back garden was a massive creature. It was as big as a bear but shaped more like a wolf. The deep red eyes locked on to her even through the window. She let out a loud gasp which was joined quickly by the glass smashing on the ground.

There was clattering above her as she heard her Uncle scream something about no-one would burgle his house whilst he still drew breath. Harriet could hear the footsteps above her, not just one set but it appeared that the whole family had decided to come and see what the commotion was. She looked back out the window. To her amazement the creature still stood there right in front of her. Its head was covered in what looked like a canine skull. It seemed to signal for her. Amazed at what it was doing, her curiosity took over and she pointed at herself and watched as it nodded slowly.

Just as the lights came on she pulled open the back door and ran out towards the creature. It leads her out of the garden and out onto the street. The orange glow that filled the street cast a strange light on the world. It was only when she saw this unfamiliar light that Harriet stopped to look back at the only home she had ever known. She wondered if they would miss her, or even notice that she had gone.

Her mind was pulled back to reality when she felt warm fur brush over her arm. The Wolf like creature was standing over her, curled around her like a protective it made sure she could no longer look back. The only way was forwards.

Harriet and the creature walked through several streets, passing many houses that still had Halloween decorations up, yet the lights were all out. She did not know what time it would be but it must have been very early in the morning. Eventually, they came to the edge of a small wood that lay on the outskirts of the town. Harriet had seen the kids playing by it sometimes when she had been going to and from the small shop at the edge of this road for Aunt Petunia. Once she had heard a mother yelling at her child never to play near that forest, that it was very dangerous.

Yet here she was standing at the entrance, the creature using its head to gently nudge her into it. She had barely taken a step off the path when a pain shot through her foot. She had left in such a hurry that she had forgotten to wear shoes. Stopping she looked down at her foot and saw several cuts caused not only by the rough road surface but a few much deeper ones from the forest floor. With an apologetic look, the creature sat down next to her and gestured to its back. Harriet wasn't sure, it did look big enough to be able to support her weight, she couldn't weigh that much after all, but what if it was trying to say it had made a mistake and she was to go home.

It seemed that the creature was not as content as she was to sit and think about what was going on, as after a minute of her doing nothing it stood up once behind her it simply lifted her up by her shirt. It was surprisingly gentle for such a scary looking beast. With one swooping movement, it managed to throw her onto its back and made a break into the forest. Harriet let out a rather loud scream and grabbed on to any of the hair that she could to keep herself on. Once she was over the initial shock however it was quite a thrill. She found herself trying to sit up in the wind. It was exhilarating to have the wind blowing through her nest of hair.

It did not seem to take them long to reach their destination. Now far from any civilization the beast came to a stop next to a small ring of stones that sat in the center of a clearing. She had never seen anything like it, each of the stones was carved with strange runes and other markings. The creature let her down once more, she winced as her foot touched the ground expecting it to hurt. However, the soft moss that was now underfoot seemed to sooth the wound. She found it to be an odd feeling, not unpleasant just odd.

The two of them stepped into the stone circle after another soft nude from the creature. Once they were in the middle the stones began to glow. Harriets body felt light like it was floating, rising into the sky. Suddenly the world seemed to go white, a blinding light forced her to close her eyes and the feeling subsided, once more she felt like she was on the ground.

"You can open your eyes know, little one." The voice that spoke seemed familiar, washing over with a feeling of relief she opened her eyes to see the women that she had spoken to earlier that day standing before her. "Welcome to Everwinter."