Wolfblood

CHAPTER THREE

Page count: 10

It had been four days since she'd told Derek that he was the father of her child, and in those four days she hadn't heard from him or seen him, but she didn't let it bother her; she knew she'd given him a lot to think about and he needed time to digest the news. If it got to the point where weeks had passed and he hadn't found her, then she'd assume he didn't want anything to do with the baby and she would accept his decision and move on in her life.

Since that day, she'd taken to hiking through the woods a little more than she usually would, making sure to spread her scent so he'd be able to find her and eventually it would lead to her cottage; there was no harm in making things easier for him.

It was on the fourth day when it was just after lunch and she was making her way back to her cottage, after all, she had an appointment at the animal clinic with Magic. Dr. Deaton wanted to do a check up on him and ensure he was putting on weight and that he hadn't missed any symptoms of any underlying health issues.

She wasn't far from her cottage when she stumbled upon a sight that surprised her; a beautiful snowy owl that was huddled on the ground and against a tree trunk. Given the time of day, she knew it to be odd for a wild owl to be out in the open as they were nocturnal animals, and given the size, she suspected it wasn't yet a fully grown adult. She slowly approached it and got down onto her knees, and she knew the only reason it didn't fly away from her was that it looked to have a broken wing and it had blood on its face and legs, likely having been attacked by an animal, probably a cat.

She slowly reached her hand out and the little owl tried to scramble away from her in fear.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you," she said softly, and she allowed her hand to hover in front of its face, not caring if it bit her. She'd received many bites from aggressive owls over the years, another wouldn't kill her.

The owl shifted its head forward cautiously, before it pecked at her finger and a smile pulled at her face. She knew the owl would recognise her magical aura, it would recognise her as being a witch as all owls were able to do, whether they were in the Wizarding World or not. Owls were drawn to wizarding folk and for that reason, she was able to gently pick up the owl and she sat it on her arm, cradling it against her stomach so it couldn't fall off.

It let out a hoot of pain and she apologised before carefully but quickly making her way back to her cottage, brushing past the over excited puppy that greeted her and she set the owl on the table before retrieving a bowl of water and some pieces of chicken. She was glad to see the owl was eating, and she was sure it was a he, and she left him on the table alone and gathered the dog lead which she clipped to Magic's collar, before finding a box and stuffing it with a blanket to make it comfortable for her new friend.

She didn't bother worrying about Crookshanks attacking him, owls didn't bother him, it was rats he hated and Hermione supported that decision fully. Not that it mattered, he hadn't move from his place curled up on the rug in front of the fireplace.

She was able to settle the owl enough to put him in the box, and then she changed out of her muddy clothes and made her way out of the door and to her car, which was hidden by the side of the road with magic. She apparated to the car and put Magic in the back seat and the box on the front seat, and with a few charms to keep them both in place, she made her way to the animal clinic.

When she arrived it wasn't busy but she didn't expect anything else, after all, it was a Saturday afternoon. She held the box under her arm and the excited puppy dragged her over to the door, which she pushed open with her shoulder, and they stepped inside, seeing the waiting room and reception desk empty.

She placed the box on the ground and pressed the bell on the desk to alert someone to her presence, and soon after a young man entered from the back room and came to stand at the desk.