𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙡𝙨 (𝖽𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗈 𝗆𝖺𝗅𝖿𝗈𝗒 𝗑 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋)

chapter nine

Harry and I entered the Forbidden Forest quietly, even though facing the creature was inevitable.

Sudden and fast cracking of dried leaves startled us, and Sirius ran up to us, trying to get us to move away from the forest. We followed him across the Hogwarts grounds to another smaller, denser forest next to the Black Lake. The full moon reflected off of the lake, and I realised exactly what creature we were going to fight.

"Don't worry, I'll distract him for the time being," Sirius said. "I know who to deal with Remus."

So Professor Lupin was a werewolf? Odd, but okay.

Harry and I nodded in response and followed Sirius through the forest, carefully on the watch for Lupin.

A howl pierced the quiet air. I jumped at the sound, turning around fearfully to try to find the professor. I had no such luck, but instead, noticed that the Black Lake had begun to freeze over slightly.

A bark drew my attention away again. My eyes went straight to see Sirius, in dog form, jump on a brown werewolf: Lupin. The started wrestling, gnawing at each other and howling.

A chill went down my spine as the moonlight disappeared. I whipped my head around, looking for Harry, but I only saw black nothingness. The sound of Lupin and Sirius wrestling was slowly drowned out by an overwhelming silence. I kneeled down, throwing my hands over my ears and clawing at my hair. Memories started flooding back to me. Is this how I die? What was happening? I couldn't move my body, all I could do was scream, and I did.

My eyes shot open and my hands went straight for my wand. I held it out, a sudden rush of adrenaline replacing any other feelings I had. I recognised the feelings, and knew exactly what needed to happen.

"Expecto Patronum!" I screeched. The power in my voice surprised me.

A bright, silver and blue animal burst from my wand and ran through the flock of dementors. They dispersed, leaving bits of moonlight back in the sky.

I turned around, noticing Harry standing next to me. He lifted his wand at the remaining dementors, and we yelled the spell in sync. A beautiful stag ran together with my patronus, and the rest of the dementors fled, leaving the moon fully uncovered.

Facing the rest of my surroundings, I noticed Lupin and Sirius lying on the ground behind me, both motionless. Harry and I dashed to them, and after determining that they were simply passed out, carried them into the castle. We hid them in one of the rooms in a tower, the same room with the balcony that Buckbeak was standing on.

We then went to the Hospital Wing to check on our friends.

~~~

Harry and I spent most of our summer at the Weasley's again. This year, Arthur had gotten tickets to see the Quidditch World Cup, an annual tournament against the two best Quidditch teams in the Wizarding World. We were going with the Weasleys.

Once we arrived, we put together a small tent with a large inside, and then we went to the stadium. The two teams seemed to be good matches, and I was really excited for the match. Star and the rest of the Malfoys had seats in the balcony right above us, so Star came to sit with me. She and I talked about our summers, and I was glad to see her.

After the match, I walked with Star to her tent. I was surprised that the Weasleys let me go with the Malfoys, but I had to be back for dinner. I was also surprised that Lucius let me walk with them, but I'm sure Narcissa and Star had a bit of an effect on their decision.

When I entered their tent, I was shocked at how nice it was. It was huge, almost a whole mansion, all inside of the tiny tent that appeared on the outside. The walls were a chill grey, with fully stocked room and furniture. Star and I sat in the main room, chatting and laughing while Lucius and Draco were outside talking to other wizards. Narcissa was in the kitchen, making dinner and tea.

Suddenly, Star's sentence was interrupted by a loud scream from outside and the tent door slamming closed. I looked to my friend in confusion, and we stood up to explore the scream.

"No. You two are not to leave without my permission," Lucius said harshly.

"Sir, you must excuse me--"

"Am I hearing you correctly? I allowed you, of all people, into my living space, and this is how to treat me?" he said, voice dripping with menace. "Star, do me a favour and rethink your friendships."

"Yes, Father," she said as he walked past us. She turned to me and rolled her eyes, obviously going to disobey him. She grabbed my hand and pulled me through the tent door, holding Draco's arm with her other hand.

"Okay, we're going to explore what happened. You in?" Star said to her brother.

He shrugged. "Whatever. Just don't get me into trouble."

Star giggled. "No promises."

Another scream, this time louder, echoed from the Quidditch field. We started running towards it, entering through the doors only to find three people floating in the air above a group of people in black cloaks, walking and chanting within their circle. The floating people continued screaming as if they were in a torturous pain.

Draco's face lost its colour quickly. "Those are Muggles. They're hurting Muggles."

I killed my sudden urge to retort, and instead let those words sink into me. "Why?"

"No clue," he answered, a solemn tone replacing his usual cockiness.

Another scream echoed throughout the field, and then a scream came from a different place. People began running, trying to escape from something, although I couldn't say what. A man ran past me, pointing his wand at random tents and setting them aflame. I jerked around, moving closer to Star and Draco and grabbing their arms so we wouldn't get separated.

"We should get out of here," Star suggested.

"Where should we go?"

"I . . . I don't know. You need to get back with the Weasleys."

"I see them!" Draco said, pointing. "They're running into the forest with everybody else."

"Maybe we should wait, then. They're just going to get lost in there," Star added.

"That's true. Should we go back to your tent?"

"Maybe not. Father will be mad."

I sighed, unsure of what to do. We backed up against the outer wall of the stadium. The sun had long set by now, and the sky was dark. Parts of the campground were illuminated by fire, and the screaming from the Muggles had stopped.

The Muggles' screaming was quickly replaced by someone else's. A bright green skull appeared above an area of the forest, striking fear into myself and everyone around me, even Star and Draco.

"That's a Dark Mark," Star pointed out.

"That means that the Death Eaters are back. You-Know-Who is regaining power," Draco stated.

"Well, this can't be good."