The Beast Within

Silence

I am Phoenix Scamander, daughter of Lysander Scamander. I was a normal 11 year old girl. I lived in a normal house on a normal street. However, me and my family were different from everyone else. We were magical. The neighbours often spread rumours about us, causing me to be left out at school. I only had my brother, Brendon, to look after me there. Brendon had gone to a different school, so for years I was bullied and teased. I longed to go to Hogwarts with him. Every day I would stare at the star studded sky, wishing for my acceptance letter. Finally, after years of waiting, the letter finally arrived.

It was a bright, warm day and I sat in the garden, gazing up at the clouds. "Look Brendon, it's a hippogriff!" I exclaimed, pointing up at the sky. "No, that's a dragon, look at the wings! Those are not hippogriff wings." He replied. Suddenly, the silhouette of something flew in front of the cloud. Squinting my eyes so I could see better, I focused on the shape. "It's an owl!" I cried, standing up, "How is it an ow-" Brendon said before spotting the owl. I let out a loud squeal. It swooped down and landed on the small dragon ornament we had sitting on our door step. I ran over to it, grabbing the letter and letting him climb onto my arm. Opening the door, I could hear my father cooking in the kitchen, while my mother was waving her wand, setting the table. "Remember, your uncle is coming round, make yourself look presentable," She said, eyeing my muddy jeans. "Sure," I mumbled walking up to my room. I sat the owl down on a perch and gave him some food and water. Throwing myself onto the bed, I examined the letter. There was a crimson red seal on the back. It had the Hogwarts crest on it. Squealing again, I ripped the envelope open. "Dear Miss Phoenix Scamander, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." I walked over to the owl and stroked him. I picked him up and let him out through my window. It was beginning to get cold and an ominous cloud was forming above the street. "Good thing we got inside before the storm started." I said under my breath. Getting changed into some clean clothes, I thought. "Should I announce that I got accepted now, or when Uncle Lorcan's here?" Thinking for a while, I decided to say then, I couldn't wait any longer.

Stepping out of my room, I realised I had almost forgot the letter. Running back to pick it up, I realised that the storm had gotten really bad. The wind was howling like a wolf. Was it the wind? It sounded strange. I asked myself "It's just the wind, stop being such a scaredy cat Phoenix." I muttered, shaking my head. Closing the door behind me, I walked down the hallway, and down the stairs. Something was wrong. All of the lights were off. Nothing made a sound. The wind had stopped howling, nothing but the creak of floorboards under my feet could be heard. As I got to the last step, I gasped. There was a bloodstain on the floor, several smaller ones leading off from it. I followed them until I entered the front room. Something stirred in the corner of the room. "Brendon?" I said, blindly stumbling towards him. "Shhhh..." He said, his breathing heavy. I could hear the fear in his voice. Without warning, a loud snarl sounded from behind me. My heart racing I turned to see a huge wolf approaching me, baring its yellow teeth. I screamed. "Move!" I heard the voice of my dad say.  The huge beast pounced, fire blazing in its eyes. Its bear-like paws hit me in the chest, winding me. Hitting my head on the floor with a loud crash, I lost all senses for what seemed like hours though it was probably only seconds. Only a shrill ringing filled my ears. As I regained my senses, I saw it stand up on its hind legs. Knowing I was powerless, it moved in for the kill. A loud cry sounded from above me and I heard the wolf whine. A blurry figure was standing above me, wand raised. It was my uncle. "Brendon! Take Phoenix out of here, I'll get your parents out, Go!" I felt my brothers arms wrap around mine and heard the wolf howl. I passed out.

I awoke to see my brother's face looking down at me, across his face there was a huge claw mark. "You don't look good..." I mumbled, still adjusting to the bright room we were in. "Me? Have you seen yourself lately?!" He said, picking up a mirror that was on the table next to me. My face was bloody and covered in scratches. I had a black eye and my hair was matted with blood. Feeling a sharp pain in my arm, I looked down. My arm was wrapped in a bandage. "You were bitten by the werewolf. Don't worry though, they have the cure now remember, they found it a week ago." He explained. "Hey, Phoenix. There's something I need to tell you." He said, his small grin fading. "Mum and Dad are..." Brendon looked away, I could see the tears glistening in his chestnut eyes. "No..." I whispered. "Yes... Mum and Dad are gone... They were killed. Lorcan tried to save Mum but Dad didn't want his brother to die for them so he jumped in front of him, pushing him away. Mum tried to stun it but it was too strong and killed her as well. Lorcan was knocked out but he's okay..." Brendon explained, tears streaming down his face and cascading down onto mine. It was hard to take it all in. I tried to convince myself it was all just a nightmare, but deep down I knew it wasn't. I couldn't even cry, I just sat, staring at the ceiling, thoughts stampeding through my head like a herd of thestrals. I no longer had any parents. It was just me and Brendon. Alone.