Chapter 4 - Hamlets and hunting
Time flies when you're having fun, and for Katherine and Remus, the first year of their friendship raced by without one dull moment. When they weren't pulling pranks on William or playfully teasing one another, they sat and talked, content to simply enjoy one another's company.
Today was one such a day. They sat at the bottom of Katherine's garden, the autumnal sun warm on their faces while the brook gushed happily past them, the crystal clear water reflecting the blue sky with its scattering of white, fluffy clouds.
"Aren't you scared of the woods?" asked Remus, watching Katherine with sceptical interest.
"No. Mummy says I shouldn't go in there alone, but that's not because of monsters - it's because of people." She threw a pebble into the stream, watching the ripples for a moment before they were swallowed by the current. She grinned at him and then looked up at the forest before them. The trees were shedding the last of their leaves before winter and the foliage glowed amber and red in the golden sunlight. It wasn't scary at all.
"What kind of people?" asked Remus, frowning at her as she gazed at her rippling reflection in the stream. Katherine shrugged, squinting up at the trees in the bright sunlight.
"Bad people I guess. Race you back to the house?" she asked, gazing at him with clear blue eyes; he grinned impishly back.
"Want a head start?"
"Are you suggesting I need one?"
"Yes."
"Shut up, Remus," laughed Katherine, getting to her feet and running up the slope.
"Hey!"
He caught up with her at the back door of the house and tried to glare at her. She giggled at his expression and he grinned sheepishly.
"Katherine? Remus? Lunch is ready," called a woman's voice from inside.
"Coming," replied Katherine, glancing down the garden as she did so. Funny, she could have sworn the bush just rustled, but there was no wind.
"You ok?" asked Remus, his sandy blond hair gleaming gold in the sun. Katherine paused then nodded.
"Yeah, come on Remmy." She took his hand and they went inside to eat lunch.
At the bottom of the garden, Reuben Silva growled softly, then turned and slunk away into the wood. Next time, he thought sullenly, I'll get them next time…
xxx
In a way, Remus had been right to be wary of the woods. Of course, there would have been nothing to be afraid of if Katherine's perception of them had been correct - that they were simply ordinary woods with nothing more alarming than a few vicious brambles and a handful of incontinent birds. To her, they were just ordinary muggle woods.
Except they weren't.
While it is true that Hogsmeade is the only all wizard village in Britain, it is by no means the only magical community. On the outskirts of Essex, there lies one such community. It isn't a village, in fact it hardly even qualifies as a hamlet, but it is a place where wizards and witches can be assured a secure and quiet life. A few well cast spells have even ensured the area is unplotable on any muggle map and anti-muggle charms surround it for safety's sake.
This being said, there are a couple of muggle inhabitants - those already well briefed on the magical world through family, friends or fiancées and this of course prevents it from being classified as an all magical dwelling.
At this present moment in time, it is being watched by a pair of golden eyes that stare out at the sunny lanes with a mixture of longing and scorn. The watcher is a young boy of around seventeen. He used to live there at 12a, Holly Street, but recent events have forced him to rethink his living arrangements.
He turns away, loping through the dense undergrowth of the forest towards the makeshift hut somewhere near it's centre. That's where his family is now, his real family. In a manner of speaking. Perhaps they aren't blood relatives, but they're all he has now.
His people.
He's already made the distinction.
After only two months, the wolf and the human are a whole race apart.
Dan Caelum is long gone and in his place is Reuben Silva.
And he's late.
xxx
"You're late," remarked a deep voice from the depths of a patched armchair.
Reuben ignored the voice and walked over to Ruth, whose fiery red hair shone like rubies in the warm autumn sunshine. She smiled at him, her dark brown eyes gazing fondly into his amber ones.
"Hey," she said huskily as he sat down next to her on the floor, back against the wall. "What took you so long?" Reuben shrugged, tugging on a lock of Ruth's hair and smiling lazily at her.
"I was observing them."
"They're five, Reuben. They can't go very far," said the scornful voice from the armchair.
Reuben frowned at armchair and met the brilliant emerald gaze of Gareth Dux, who was currently scowling at him over a newspaper entitled The Daily Prophet.
The eyes were the first thing anyone noticed about Gareth. They glinted in the sunlight, two bright gems framed with heavy black lashes. The second thing people noticed was the gleaming black hair that fell about his handsome, clean cut features. To say that it was wild was an understatement. The word feral might have been better suited; Reuben often thought it had a life of it's own.
There was a third thing to realise about Gareth, but many people were either too stupid or too slow to work it out and it was this: he was mad. The eyes that were now so intently trained on Reuben hid behind them a mind so twisted that it was tied in knots.
"They have parents, Gareth," said Ruth, resting her head on Reuben's shoulder.
"Muggle parents, Rue," argued Gareth.
"Not the boy's," said Reuben. "They're wizards." Gareth looked at him sharply.
"How d'you know?"
"I told you, I was observing them," said Reuben calmly.
"Why aren't they living in the village then?" demanded Gareth, scowling.
"They go there sometimes," said a lazy voice from a corner. Frobisher Lakes, the fourth member of the small gang stretched, yawning widely. "I've seen them buying stuff." Gareth's scowl deepened.
"And you didn't think to share this information with us?" he asked angrily. Frobisher only shrugged, flexing muscled arms.
"I thought you knew."
"Well I didn't and this makes it much more complicated," Gareth snapped.
"I fail to see why," said Frobisher, frowning at him. "Just go for the girl instead. She can keep Ruth company." Ruth tossed her crimson mane of hair and gave him a stern look.
"I don't want to be lumbered with a five year old thanks very much," she said firmly. Gareth shrugged, standing up.
"You won't be. It's our project and that means all of us. We just take the kid and leave." He grinned, his eyes shining with vicious delight. "We'll do it tonight."
xxx
Remus surveyed the tent critically. "You think it'll stay up?"
"It should do," answered Katherine, sticking her head inside the tent flap and peering around.
Their parents had agreed to let them camp out in the garden for the night, though they both knew that as soon as they were asleep, they'd be carried back into the house and put to bed. Parents could be so boring sometimes.
"It was fine when we put all the stuff in, wasn't it?" said Katherine, ducking under the flap and crawling inside.
The majority of floor space was taken up by two thick sleeping bags and bowls of sweets and drinks, ideal for a midnight feast. There was also an assortment of toys and drawing books in case they got bored and an assortment of random items such as a pair of sunglasses, a few toys swords and even a framed photograph of the two of them that had been taken at Remus' fifth birthday. How they'd managed to end up in the tent was anyone's guess.
At around eight o'clock, Katherine and Remus fell asleep amidst a pile of soft toys, sweet wrappers and half finished drawings. A movement outside the canvas made Katherine stir in her sleep and she pulled the sleeping bag over her head, hoping whichever parent it was would go away. She didn't want to go back inside just yet, it was nice out here with the soothing sound of brook in the distance and the soft rustling of the trees in the forest.
The figure outside padded round to the entrance and she heard the tent flap being unzipped. Beside her, Remus rolled over, his blond hair tousled and brown eyes closed. Katherine risked a glance over at the tent entrance, hoping her parents wouldn't catch her awake at this hour, but she saw nothing.
That was odd, she could have sworn the tent flap had been unzipped. She lay there in the dark, contemplating this puzzle as the light breeze rustled the empty sweet wrappers. She turned over, moving closer to Remus for comfort then stopped.
Light breeze? How could there be wind inside the tent when the entrance was closed?
Behind her, a shadow moved slightly and it took her no more than a second to decide what to do. She used the only weapon a five year old could against a stranger: she screamed.