The Legacy (Camren)

Chapter Seventeen

Lauren trained her ears on the woods around her and listened for the sound of the wolf. It could have been anywhere. The downside was that if it snuck up behind them, they would have to run straight towards the dragon. The upside was that the dragon had evidently heard the howl too, as it was now back on all fours, teeth bared, tail whipping back and forth aggressively.

"We're screwed," Camila said.

"No we're not," Lauren assured her. "Just give me a second to think."

Though the second she began to think, the werewolf finally decided to show itself. It was a massive one, tall and nearly hairless and walking on hind legs like a human. Hagrid stared at it for what seemed like forever, like he recognized an old friend in the beast, but all Lauren could see was a killer.

It was just a few feet in front of them, sniffing the air around them, never taking its eyes off of the group. Suddenly, it let out another loud, long howl, and Camila latched onto Lauren's hand so tightly that it instantly lost feeling. Lauren was concerned about the werewolf, and she was concerned about the fact that the dragon was aware of the werewolf and had begun to smoke through its nostrils- given that if it decided to breathe fire, it would have not just one fried werewolf, but three fried humans to feast on- but what she was most concerned about was the fact that she didn't feel that electric jolt when Camila grabbed her hand.

She'd always felt it in the face of danger. Somehow, Camila always showed up when Lauren was clearly destined to die, and each time she touched her during those moments, Lauren felt something course through her veins. Not this time, though. Not when they were in the middle of a dragon-werewolf sandwich.

It either meant that none of them were supposed to die, or all of them were supposed to die. Lauren liked the first option better, so she did what she thought was best and pointed her wand directly at the wolf. It snarled and stared at her with its blank, black eyes, waiting for her to make a move like a fellow wizard would, and she did.

"Stupefy!" she shouted suddenly.

A wave of blue sparks shot out of her wand and sent the wolf sailing backwards, which did exactly what it was supposed to do, except it only seemed to make the dragon more angry. The beast stood up on its hind legs one more time and let out the loudest, most bone-chilling roar Lauren had ever heard. There was only one option left...

"Run," she said.

She held Camila's hand tightly and started off through the forest. She could hear the werewolf getting up at the same time that the dragon began flapping its wings to ascend into the sky, but she paid them no mind.

"Split up!" she yelled, and she heard Hagrid's massive footsteps head off in another direction.

For a while, she and Camila ran through the woods quietly, branches scraping their faces as they tried to find their way back to the castle. Lauren felt guilty about leaving Hagrid behind, but it was he who had gotten them into the mess in the first place. All Lauren could do was run. Hold Camila's hand and run.

Lauren was pretty sure they were almost back to the edge of the forest when, out of nowhere, a stream of white-hot flames shot down from out of the sky and singed the trees directly in front of them. The dragon roared overhead.

"This way!" Lauren yelled.

She yanked Camila this way and that, going whichever direction the dragon was not shooting fire balls, dodging falling trees and burning embers, keeping the werewolf in the back of her mind all the while. Camila hadn't said anything. Lauren was sure she was frozen in fear, but there was no time to stop and check on her. They kept running.