Chapter 6

"Olivia, I changed my mind." Lily whispered frantically. "This was a terrible idea."

Olivia shook her head. "Too late now, you're the one who showed me which passage to take out of the castle. Besides, I think we're there."

The two girls were on their hands and knees crawling through the tunnel leading to Hogsmeade. Lily was muttering to herself the whole way.

"We should go back, I'm serious!" Lily insisted.

Olivia lifted the trap door slightly to peek around the shop. It was deserted, so she pulled herself up and then bent down to help Lily out.

Olivia saw a small window in the corner letting a sliver of light out. The moon was starting to rise and it reflected off the snow like daylight.

Bundled in their winter jackets, the girls set out for the Shrieking Shack.

They crested the top of the hill leading to their destination when Lily stopped.

"Olivia, what if the dog isn't here?" She asked with wide eyes.

"Then at least we can say we've made it to the Shrieking Shack at night, on a full moon and lived to tell the tale." Olivia said with a grin.

A howl rang out through the night. The haunting sound came from the direction they were headed.

Lily stared at Olivia, unable to move. "I really dislike you right now."

Olivia grabbed her hand and moved into the clearing. She saw the log she had been sitting on earlier, and placed the bundle of food she had brought for the dog on top of it.

"Can we leave now?" Lily whispered, completely terrified.

"It's absolutely beautiful out here." Olivia marveled as she looked into the clear night sky. The stars twinkled in unison and the moon was bigger than she had ever seen in.

They heard a loud thump come from the house and the girls jumped.

Olivia sighed. "It's just the tree, see there how it's hitting the side of the house?"

They sat down on the log together and stared at the house. Still terrified, Lily tried to make idle conversation to keep from running in the other direction.

"What is your deal with danger?" She asked bluntly.

Olivia smiled. "You know how they say, 'if you can't beat them, join them?' Well I've decided to embrace my ability to attract unfortunate events."

"I don't understand." Lily frowned.

"I seem to be a beacon for tragedy. I don't have many friends for that reason, and it started the year I was supposed to leave for Hogwarts."

Lily nodded. "What happened that was so awful?"

"My dad left my mum for another woman." Olivia sighed. She had never told anyone this before. Thinking of him made her heart explode with anger.

"I'm so sorry Olivia that must have been terrible. Have you seen him since?"

Olivia shook her head. "I can't ever see him again. Not unless I want to join him."

"Join him?" Lily turned to face Olivia. A tear had rolled down her cheek and it glistened in the frosty night air.

"My dad left my mum for a vampire." Olivia said, her face as solid as stone.

Lily put her hand to her mouth in shock, not knowing what to say.

They sat together in silence, watching their breath come out in puffs of fog. Olivia tried to push her memories into the back of her mind once more and focus on her surroundings.

"I don't think he's going to come back. Maybe he did belong to a family." Lily said after a while.

Olivia opened her mouth to speak when they heard another piercing howl ring out around them.

"Ok maybe we should go now." Olivia said with wide eyes.

They jumped up together as they heard a crash come from the house. Staring, frozen in shock, they saw a large werewolf had just jumped through the window out into the open.

Lily could hardly breathe. "I knew this was going to happen." She whispered frantically.

"How in bloody hell did you know a werewolf resided in that house?" Olivia shot back at her, terrified as the beast just stood there, watching them.

It let out a howl and darted in their direction.

"RUN!" Olivia screamed.

Lily took off like a shot down the hill, screaming the whole way. Olivia was behind her until she tripped over an exposed root that had been hidden in the dark.

Olivia struggled on the ground to get up, but froze when the werewolf was only a foot away from her. She tried to scream but she couldn't find her voice.

Like a knight in shining armor, the black dog jumped over Olivia and growled menacingly at the werewolf.

Olivia tried to remember to breathe so she wouldn't pass out. Losing conscience right now was not in her best interest.

The dog leaped off of her and grabbed the werewolf by his neck, distracting it from attacking Olivia. She untangled her pant leg from the root and slowly began to back away. Her ankle was throbbing as she realized she had twisted it falling to the ground. Supporting herself on the tree, Olivia grabbed a hold of it and pulled herself to her feet. She watched the battle, with wide eyes and shallow breaths.

The dog was too fast for the werewolf, darting in and out of its legs, confusing it and making it angrier. It howled viciously as the dog bit its leg.

Out of seemingly nowhere, a giant stag came from the shadows of the house and butted the werewolf over the edge of the hill. Olivia watched as the werewolf rolled a ways, picked itself up and ran off. The stag seemed to stare straight into Olivia before it turned to run off after the beast.

The dog came up to her and sniffed her carefully. Olivia heard the werewolf howl again and quickly turned to limp as fast as she could after Lily. The dog came up behind her, letting her rest a hand on his head to stabilize her as she walked.

She found Lily plastered to the side of the building, wringing her hands. Lily squealed in relief when she saw Olivia coming toward her.

"What happened? Did he bite you?" She asked, looking her up and down.

"You knew there was a werewolf in there didn't you?" Olivia asked, shifting her weight onto Lily as she put an arm around her to help her back through the window.

"I tried to tell you it was dangerous." Lily argued. "What are we going to do about him?" She nodded to the dog.

It looked between the girls and made no sign of turning back.

Olivia shook her head. "Let's just worry about getting ourselves back."

The two girls followed their path back to their dorm, exhausted and freezing. The dog following them close behind.