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Hogwarts
Still writing Hogwarts instead of updating my LJ. Indeed, I'm so close to being finished that I think I'm just gonna go ahead and write the ending, but I'll count it against tomorrow and post it then, since it, you know, increases dramatic tension or something.
It took little enough time to gather what I needed from my dormitory, even with the distraction of the tears. Indeed, I was glad to have a task that I needed to accomplish, and quickly, for it kept me thoroughly distracted for the most part. I gathered up the potions I would need, truly regretting now all the delays that had caused my supplies to diminish. I had only 2 shrinking potions left, and a scattered selection of other potions that I thought had a chance at utility. The one thing I did have, and I was glad of it as little as it now seemed, was a full 5 freezing potions. These, I hoped, would prove useful despite the fact that thus far they hadn’t really protected me as I had expected. These brews I secured in my robes – I had long ago modified them to be able to safely hold potions – and hoped that I didn’t fall, for this would surely cause the flasks (designed to shatter when thrown) to break. It was a meager enough supply that I was uncomfortably pleased that I had learned an offensive spell or two in my brief time in GAB.
Beyond these items, there was little I could do. Almost everything I owned was in that dormitory room, but there was no way I could transport hardly any of it. I hastily grabbed my ingredient supply, for it included some rare things, and slipped the reagent bottles in to the empty potion slots in my robes. This accomplished, there was little enough else to do, and so I gave one last glance to my things and started to leave.
“meow?”
With a muttered curse, I turned around. For all that I had grown very fond of Kate, it’d be easily forgiven that she has factored little in this narrative, yet at the time it was quite unforgivable, given my surprisingly level of attachment, that I had completely forgotten her in my preparations for the battle. Now, she had woken up and must have sensed something, and she was making her way towards me as adorable as could be. My heart nearly broke. There was no way at all I could take her with me; she’d not be safe in my robes, and she certainly couldn’t balance on my broomstick. I couldn’t leave her here, when I would probably not be returning any time soon. With a feeling of my heart breaking – if only slightly – I picked her up. I knew what I had to do.
I practically ran, Kate’s claws digging in to my hand in angry response to this abuse, making my way to where the students were assembling to be evacuated. One or two greeted me, wondering if something was wrong, or if I’d been sent to organize them, or to evacuate them, asking me ridiculous things related to suppositions of what was happening. I ignored them and looked for Fred. Sure enough, she was standing near the front of the group, talking animatedly to Professor Singh in a way that left me feeling vaguely uncomfortable. I waited until she was finished; she noticed me and came over.
She started to speak, but I was already running so late that I couldn’t wait for her well intentioned questions. She already took care of Mr. Whiskers, Mr. Whiskers children (for it had turned out the rat was in fact female), and a miniaturized dragon; with this experience, I felt that she was the best choice for protecting my poor kitten. “Fred, can you do me a favor?” I asked.
“Anything!” she chirped.
“Do you think you could take care of Kate for me?”
She looked skeptical. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” she looked distressed. “I mean, Mr. Whiskers is a rat, and that’s kind of like a mouse, and cats…” she eyed the kitten and the bloody ruts that had been left in my hand.
“Nothing will happen,” I said firmly, as if saying it with determination would make it true. “I’m sure they’ll get along splendidly.”
“I don’t know…” Fred said again.
I didn’t have time for this! Fred’s pets were huddled in a large cauldron she held. Figuring we could stop any violence if it began, I carefully set Kate down inside. Mr. Whiskers was fairly large, and Kate quite small, and the dragon eyed them both as they sniffed each other warily. In truth, the rat looked quite petrified, but Kate – bless her kitty soul – didn’t seem to realize as Mr. Whiskers did that they were mortal enemies, and after a moment she moved to nuzzle the rat, and though Mr. Whiskers was shaking to her toes, nothing bad happened at all. “See?” I half-snapped, distracted. “No problem.”
“Oh! Well, in that case, of course I’ll take Kate!” Fred smiled, and I smiled back, irritation fading. There must have been something on my face, though, for Fred added, “you’d better get going! Aren’t you late? Don’t worry about us, we’ll be fine! I wish we were allowed to defend the school too.”
“I’m glad you’ll be safe,” I replied firmly, and left.
I ran back to my dormitory; I had forgotten my broom. This oversight rectified, I didn’t bother with my feet, and instead flew as fast as I could down the twisting corridors of the castle. I’ve never in my life flown so recklessly, but it was the only way to prevent myself from being even more greatly delayed, and so I took the chance of careening headlong in to a wall. As I went, my way was made more difficult by the way the corridors seemed to have shifted since last I had been this way. More than once I passed the animated suits of armor that guarded the castle, looking much less benign and far more ready to wield medieval weaponry than I had ever seen before. The hallways seemed to move, too, and I wondered what other mechanisms were being turned on to protect the castle. Such musings did me little good, though, and in fact did harm, for they slowed my progress, and soon enough I returned my concentration to the task at hand rather than allowing my attention to continue wandering. Thus it was that I took about an hour to reach the meeting point instead of the half-hour we’d be given, and had but 30 minutes remaining to prepare for the attack.
I was unchallenged for this lack of punctuality, thankfully, and found that my comrades had already completed the majority of the preparations that had been necessary. Indeed, the others were already on their brooms, patrolling the expanse of field that stood cleared for almost a quarter mile between the forest and the East wall of the castle. Professor Patronius remained; he was too heavy to fly, and now he hurried between cannon of various description which stood arrayed along the wall.
“Ms. Prince,” he sounded vaguely disapproving, but he didn’t reprimand me, “you will be placed on the far southeastern flank. The others are already in their positions. It will be your job to watch that entire side of the forest, and inform the rest of if you need help – if we are being flanked from the eastern expanse. Furthermore, you are beside Caius; should you feel that the mirror he bears should be activated, do inform him of such and defend him in all of his efforts to do so. Beyond that, do everything in your power to defend the castle, and flee if the danger becomes too great – though not without announcing that you are doing so. Do you communico?” I nodded. It was a simple spell for sending messages to people near you; almost everyone knew it, though its utility was greatly hampered by the extent to which it was utterly obvious and could not be used to support covert activities. That was no problem today, though, for there was little enough chance that sneakiness would be needed. Werewolves had quite remarkable senses of smell, and so it was unlikely that we would be able to hide from them even if we tried, and with our broomsticks it had to be hoped we could simply run away. “Very good,” continued the Professor. “Do you have any questions?”
“At one point should we leave the field?”
“We are to evacuate when the Hogwarts clock strikes 6 PM if we have not already had to leave. I do not,” he added, “find it likely that we will be here that long.” He waited for other questions, but I could think of none.
I flew over to my position, greeting quickly my comrades as I passed their positions. My place was the farthest from the castle and the most exposed; I felt very much alone with only Caius Serence near me to offer support. By this point, darkness was beginning to fall. In the twilight, everything seemed to be moving. Shadows shifted along the grass that made me think we were being snuck up on. Trees clattered in the forest, their branches moving like tentacles. Clouds scuttled across the sky, making me wonder if the zeppelins had attacked already. Without a watch of my own and without being able to see the school clock, I had no sense of whether time was crawling or hurrying, and though I seemed to be aware of every single second as it went by, at the same time it felt somehow as if dark was falling very fast, and the world moved forward more quickly than I could follow. The waiting was endless, and over in a moment.
Howls echoed over the grounds, chilling me to the bone. I couldn’t even begin to count how many throats made those noises. It seemed like an inconceivably high number. How many more were silent? I couldn’t bear to think of it. I readied myself, a potion in one hand, my wand in the other, for the attack that was surely coming. It was full dark now, and clouds cast dreary shadows over the moon-lit landscape. The full moon, the cause of so much happiness and romance, struck terror in to my heart as it seemed to laugh at us from the sky. The rustles from the forest were not only from the wind, now, and huge shadows shifted just out of sight, and from those places more howls were raised until the world shook with them.
In the sky, there was an explosion.
Fear for Marcus, for a moment, flooded all my senses, but it couldn’t last, for in the light that the explosion had momentarily produced it had been clear that the lycanthropes were on the edge of the forest and about to attack. “They’re coming!” I shouted, and I heard the words come from the others as well, for we had all noticed. A cannon fired from the wall behind us, and the howling reached a fever pitch, and then the charge came.
Despite what I knew, it was hardly conceivable that the monstrous forms that came from the forest were anything other than beasts. Were these really children like Celestine’s brother? Twisted bodies, gangly limbs tipped with razor sharp claws that caught the moonlight like polished steel, muzzle faces, tufted ears, and glowing, moon-colored eyes that reflected the lingering explosion in horrible shades of red. Dozens of them stood before me, coming determinedly from the woods, each one wearing a silver color affixed to their throats.
There is no way I know of to describe combat to those who have not experienced it. Everything seems to happen at once, and if one acts at all it is without thinking. To not act is, I suspect, to die, though I have heard too often of those who experience paralysis when faced with that moment of truth. I was not one such. There was stunned moment of incomprehension, a moment that could not imagine how 8 students, 1 teacher, a little magic and some cannon could possibly defeat this hoard – the ones before me were only one end of the attack, there were greater numbers along the entire line and more – judging from the howls – in the woods. After that moment, though, I didn’t hesitate more, and I joined in to the fight just as another cannon shot scattered the ones before me.
At the time, I thought of nothing except flying my best, hurtling spells and potions, and trying to avoid the ravening mouths of our horrid attackers. I had a sense that something was holding some of the werewolves back, but I was too busy to put much thought in to what it might be. Nothing seemed to restrain those nearest me, and that was all that mattered. They clawed and bit, leapt and attacked. We drove them back with attacks of our own, hurled spells, cannon fire, thrown potions, and, somehow, the first wave fell back, and I had a moment to assess how things stood.
My skirts were badly shredded, but I was as yet uninjured. I could not make out most of my comrades in the dark, but Caius seemed unhurt, and smirked in my direction. Something about his manner worried me, and I realized I should not have neglected to pay attention to him. Beyond him, I could just make out Deletrious’ hulking form in the distance. I could only hope that my friends were well, that the three unknown students had held. The howls were beginning again. How much time had we held? I’d not have heard a bell if it had rung. Could it have been an hour? It felt like very long indeed, but I had the feeling that the opposite was true; that the first assault had been mere minutes and that the second was coming again almost immediately. I collected myself as best I could and prepared.
Above us, a battle raged, explosions big and small casting lurid shadows over the events on the ground. I couldn’t spare it much thought – no, that’s not accurate, for perhaps I could have but I would not, for those thoughts frightened me so very much that I could not bring myself to explore them at this time, not when I had to focus. All I could do was hope, and do my best.
The sinking feeling that my best would be far from good enough could not be avoided as the second wave of attackers emerged from the woods. This time they moved without hesitation, charging at us from the woods in even greater numbers than before. Somehow, though, I managed to divide my attention between the fight and watching Caius. My trouble was well rewarded – or perhaps I should say had the worst reward imaginable. Though Caius was fighting, I saw, at the same time he wasn’t really. My recent experience, my training with GAB, my knowledge of Quidditch, my intelligence, these skills combined to show me the terrible truth. Caius Serence was fighting against opponents not actually striking to hit. Frantically, while trying to defend myself, I tried to reach what this meant. The answer seemed obvious, yet just out of reach. Claws dug in to my leg while I was distracted, and I cried out and hit the offender in the face with the potion I held; he fell away, and I swooped in to the air for a moment’s respite. The collars were the key. The collars told the werewolves who to attack, and who not to attack. If the collars told the wolves to attack me, and not to attack Caius, it was because someone had made that decision. Someone wanted me attacked, but not him. Caius was protected. Caius was in league with the person who had sent the werewolves – with Palucid Nox. Caius had the Mirror which was supposed to save us all.
Horrified, I tried to figure out what to do. I had to tell someone! But there was no chance to communicate, and while I had risen in the air, the wolves had pressed forward, and no cannon fire drove them back – it seemed to all be aimed elsewhere. And I might be the only one who knew the truth! It fell to me to stop him. If I was near him, surely what protected him would at least somewhat protect me? I doubted that was the case.
I tried, somehow, to come up with the solution to this problem. The unexpected, though, intruded, as it so often did. I had not realized I was drifting lower. I had not realized how high a werewolf could leap when taunted with an opponent seemingly just out of reach. No less than three of them grabbed on to me; one failed to find purchase and fell to the ground. One latched itself on to the end of my broom and just missed rending the flesh of my back – another strike would do it. And the third?
There are moments that change our lives forever. There are moments that we can never return from, never go back to. Only rarely do we realize what they as they are happening. As the werewolves teeth sank in to my leg; as gravity did it’s horrible job bringing the best down to earth, ripping my calf apart as it did; as my brain processed that the bite of the werewolf spreads its disease; as my blood started to boil in my veins and the moon started to speak to me; I knew what I had to do.
I had one potion left, and I had seconds before I became a beast. One freezing potion left. I never felt so lucky in my entire life. I cried, for in my death I would never see Marcus again, but at least he would not have the horror of knowing what I had become; at least I would not have the pain of losing him. Caius was still smirking. He looked in my direction like he knew what had just happened, but I didn’t care; he didn’t know what I was about to do.
Turning my broom, I flew towards him. The wolf clutching the twigs of the broomhead swiped at me again, scored a hit that might have caused me to scream moments before but which I now ignored, and then lost its balance as my speed increased. Caius fended off a mock attack, and began to fly nonchalantly towards the lake. The clutched the freezing potion in my hand and hurtled at him. I felt each second in my blood, each moment stretched as I felt my body changing and dreaded that I could reach him in time. How long did I have before I was a wolf, before I thought of nothing but destruction? I would be even worse than these monsters that attacked us, for I had no collar to make me safe. Would Palucid Nox find me and collar me and make me a pet? He’d enjoy that, I though, me in particular, the protégé of his former nemesis. Rage built in my heart, fury colored the world red, and I started to forget that even this anger was not me, it was the animal. The anger felt right. Seconds passed.
Caius looked startled only for a moment. He shouted something at me, but I didn’t hear. He didn’t realize what I was doing though. My body collided into his as our broomsticks tangled together. We nosedived. I didn’t notice. The potion I had been holding, clutching in preparation, now shattered as our bodies hit; freezing potion splashed all over both of us. I knew from using it in this battle what a good strike with it would do to a werewolf; one potion would be enough to do the same to two people. I wondered if we’d shatter when we hit the ground. That would be merciful for me, I thought. I felt a sudden and utter chill, saw Caius’ skin turn blue and etched in icicles, felt that sense of cold battle with the red hot anger that coursed through me, and the anger dwindled and cooled and then I was nothing but ice, wonderfully cold. I hoped Marcus would understand. This was the only way. If I could stop Caius, we could get the mirror, and we could still hold back the wolves. If I became one of them, my life was over. This was the only way. The cold felt so very good. I wished I could say good bye.
It took little enough time to gather what I needed from my dormitory, even with the distraction of the tears. Indeed, I was glad to have a task that I needed to accomplish, and quickly, for it kept me thoroughly distracted for the most part. I gathered up the potions I would need, truly regretting now all the delays that had caused my supplies to diminish. I had only 2 shrinking potions left, and a scattered selection of other potions that I thought had a chance at utility. The one thing I did have, and I was glad of it as little as it now seemed, was a full 5 freezing potions. These, I hoped, would prove useful despite the fact that thus far they hadn’t really protected me as I had expected. These brews I secured in my robes – I had long ago modified them to be able to safely hold potions – and hoped that I didn’t fall, for this would surely cause the flasks (designed to shatter when thrown) to break. It was a meager enough supply that I was uncomfortably pleased that I had learned an offensive spell or two in my brief time in GAB.
Beyond these items, there was little I could do. Almost everything I owned was in that dormitory room, but there was no way I could transport hardly any of it. I hastily grabbed my ingredient supply, for it included some rare things, and slipped the reagent bottles in to the empty potion slots in my robes. This accomplished, there was little enough else to do, and so I gave one last glance to my things and started to leave.
“meow?”
With a muttered curse, I turned around. For all that I had grown very fond of Kate, it’d be easily forgiven that she has factored little in this narrative, yet at the time it was quite unforgivable, given my surprisingly level of attachment, that I had completely forgotten her in my preparations for the battle. Now, she had woken up and must have sensed something, and she was making her way towards me as adorable as could be. My heart nearly broke. There was no way at all I could take her with me; she’d not be safe in my robes, and she certainly couldn’t balance on my broomstick. I couldn’t leave her here, when I would probably not be returning any time soon. With a feeling of my heart breaking – if only slightly – I picked her up. I knew what I had to do.
I practically ran, Kate’s claws digging in to my hand in angry response to this abuse, making my way to where the students were assembling to be evacuated. One or two greeted me, wondering if something was wrong, or if I’d been sent to organize them, or to evacuate them, asking me ridiculous things related to suppositions of what was happening. I ignored them and looked for Fred. Sure enough, she was standing near the front of the group, talking animatedly to Professor Singh in a way that left me feeling vaguely uncomfortable. I waited until she was finished; she noticed me and came over.
She started to speak, but I was already running so late that I couldn’t wait for her well intentioned questions. She already took care of Mr. Whiskers, Mr. Whiskers children (for it had turned out the rat was in fact female), and a miniaturized dragon; with this experience, I felt that she was the best choice for protecting my poor kitten. “Fred, can you do me a favor?” I asked.
“Anything!” she chirped.
“Do you think you could take care of Kate for me?”
She looked skeptical. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” she looked distressed. “I mean, Mr. Whiskers is a rat, and that’s kind of like a mouse, and cats…” she eyed the kitten and the bloody ruts that had been left in my hand.
“Nothing will happen,” I said firmly, as if saying it with determination would make it true. “I’m sure they’ll get along splendidly.”
“I don’t know…” Fred said again.
I didn’t have time for this! Fred’s pets were huddled in a large cauldron she held. Figuring we could stop any violence if it began, I carefully set Kate down inside. Mr. Whiskers was fairly large, and Kate quite small, and the dragon eyed them both as they sniffed each other warily. In truth, the rat looked quite petrified, but Kate – bless her kitty soul – didn’t seem to realize as Mr. Whiskers did that they were mortal enemies, and after a moment she moved to nuzzle the rat, and though Mr. Whiskers was shaking to her toes, nothing bad happened at all. “See?” I half-snapped, distracted. “No problem.”
“Oh! Well, in that case, of course I’ll take Kate!” Fred smiled, and I smiled back, irritation fading. There must have been something on my face, though, for Fred added, “you’d better get going! Aren’t you late? Don’t worry about us, we’ll be fine! I wish we were allowed to defend the school too.”
“I’m glad you’ll be safe,” I replied firmly, and left.
I ran back to my dormitory; I had forgotten my broom. This oversight rectified, I didn’t bother with my feet, and instead flew as fast as I could down the twisting corridors of the castle. I’ve never in my life flown so recklessly, but it was the only way to prevent myself from being even more greatly delayed, and so I took the chance of careening headlong in to a wall. As I went, my way was made more difficult by the way the corridors seemed to have shifted since last I had been this way. More than once I passed the animated suits of armor that guarded the castle, looking much less benign and far more ready to wield medieval weaponry than I had ever seen before. The hallways seemed to move, too, and I wondered what other mechanisms were being turned on to protect the castle. Such musings did me little good, though, and in fact did harm, for they slowed my progress, and soon enough I returned my concentration to the task at hand rather than allowing my attention to continue wandering. Thus it was that I took about an hour to reach the meeting point instead of the half-hour we’d be given, and had but 30 minutes remaining to prepare for the attack.
I was unchallenged for this lack of punctuality, thankfully, and found that my comrades had already completed the majority of the preparations that had been necessary. Indeed, the others were already on their brooms, patrolling the expanse of field that stood cleared for almost a quarter mile between the forest and the East wall of the castle. Professor Patronius remained; he was too heavy to fly, and now he hurried between cannon of various description which stood arrayed along the wall.
“Ms. Prince,” he sounded vaguely disapproving, but he didn’t reprimand me, “you will be placed on the far southeastern flank. The others are already in their positions. It will be your job to watch that entire side of the forest, and inform the rest of if you need help – if we are being flanked from the eastern expanse. Furthermore, you are beside Caius; should you feel that the mirror he bears should be activated, do inform him of such and defend him in all of his efforts to do so. Beyond that, do everything in your power to defend the castle, and flee if the danger becomes too great – though not without announcing that you are doing so. Do you communico?” I nodded. It was a simple spell for sending messages to people near you; almost everyone knew it, though its utility was greatly hampered by the extent to which it was utterly obvious and could not be used to support covert activities. That was no problem today, though, for there was little enough chance that sneakiness would be needed. Werewolves had quite remarkable senses of smell, and so it was unlikely that we would be able to hide from them even if we tried, and with our broomsticks it had to be hoped we could simply run away. “Very good,” continued the Professor. “Do you have any questions?”
“At one point should we leave the field?”
“We are to evacuate when the Hogwarts clock strikes 6 PM if we have not already had to leave. I do not,” he added, “find it likely that we will be here that long.” He waited for other questions, but I could think of none.
I flew over to my position, greeting quickly my comrades as I passed their positions. My place was the farthest from the castle and the most exposed; I felt very much alone with only Caius Serence near me to offer support. By this point, darkness was beginning to fall. In the twilight, everything seemed to be moving. Shadows shifted along the grass that made me think we were being snuck up on. Trees clattered in the forest, their branches moving like tentacles. Clouds scuttled across the sky, making me wonder if the zeppelins had attacked already. Without a watch of my own and without being able to see the school clock, I had no sense of whether time was crawling or hurrying, and though I seemed to be aware of every single second as it went by, at the same time it felt somehow as if dark was falling very fast, and the world moved forward more quickly than I could follow. The waiting was endless, and over in a moment.
Howls echoed over the grounds, chilling me to the bone. I couldn’t even begin to count how many throats made those noises. It seemed like an inconceivably high number. How many more were silent? I couldn’t bear to think of it. I readied myself, a potion in one hand, my wand in the other, for the attack that was surely coming. It was full dark now, and clouds cast dreary shadows over the moon-lit landscape. The full moon, the cause of so much happiness and romance, struck terror in to my heart as it seemed to laugh at us from the sky. The rustles from the forest were not only from the wind, now, and huge shadows shifted just out of sight, and from those places more howls were raised until the world shook with them.
In the sky, there was an explosion.
Fear for Marcus, for a moment, flooded all my senses, but it couldn’t last, for in the light that the explosion had momentarily produced it had been clear that the lycanthropes were on the edge of the forest and about to attack. “They’re coming!” I shouted, and I heard the words come from the others as well, for we had all noticed. A cannon fired from the wall behind us, and the howling reached a fever pitch, and then the charge came.
Despite what I knew, it was hardly conceivable that the monstrous forms that came from the forest were anything other than beasts. Were these really children like Celestine’s brother? Twisted bodies, gangly limbs tipped with razor sharp claws that caught the moonlight like polished steel, muzzle faces, tufted ears, and glowing, moon-colored eyes that reflected the lingering explosion in horrible shades of red. Dozens of them stood before me, coming determinedly from the woods, each one wearing a silver color affixed to their throats.
There is no way I know of to describe combat to those who have not experienced it. Everything seems to happen at once, and if one acts at all it is without thinking. To not act is, I suspect, to die, though I have heard too often of those who experience paralysis when faced with that moment of truth. I was not one such. There was stunned moment of incomprehension, a moment that could not imagine how 8 students, 1 teacher, a little magic and some cannon could possibly defeat this hoard – the ones before me were only one end of the attack, there were greater numbers along the entire line and more – judging from the howls – in the woods. After that moment, though, I didn’t hesitate more, and I joined in to the fight just as another cannon shot scattered the ones before me.
At the time, I thought of nothing except flying my best, hurtling spells and potions, and trying to avoid the ravening mouths of our horrid attackers. I had a sense that something was holding some of the werewolves back, but I was too busy to put much thought in to what it might be. Nothing seemed to restrain those nearest me, and that was all that mattered. They clawed and bit, leapt and attacked. We drove them back with attacks of our own, hurled spells, cannon fire, thrown potions, and, somehow, the first wave fell back, and I had a moment to assess how things stood.
My skirts were badly shredded, but I was as yet uninjured. I could not make out most of my comrades in the dark, but Caius seemed unhurt, and smirked in my direction. Something about his manner worried me, and I realized I should not have neglected to pay attention to him. Beyond him, I could just make out Deletrious’ hulking form in the distance. I could only hope that my friends were well, that the three unknown students had held. The howls were beginning again. How much time had we held? I’d not have heard a bell if it had rung. Could it have been an hour? It felt like very long indeed, but I had the feeling that the opposite was true; that the first assault had been mere minutes and that the second was coming again almost immediately. I collected myself as best I could and prepared.
Above us, a battle raged, explosions big and small casting lurid shadows over the events on the ground. I couldn’t spare it much thought – no, that’s not accurate, for perhaps I could have but I would not, for those thoughts frightened me so very much that I could not bring myself to explore them at this time, not when I had to focus. All I could do was hope, and do my best.
The sinking feeling that my best would be far from good enough could not be avoided as the second wave of attackers emerged from the woods. This time they moved without hesitation, charging at us from the woods in even greater numbers than before. Somehow, though, I managed to divide my attention between the fight and watching Caius. My trouble was well rewarded – or perhaps I should say had the worst reward imaginable. Though Caius was fighting, I saw, at the same time he wasn’t really. My recent experience, my training with GAB, my knowledge of Quidditch, my intelligence, these skills combined to show me the terrible truth. Caius Serence was fighting against opponents not actually striking to hit. Frantically, while trying to defend myself, I tried to reach what this meant. The answer seemed obvious, yet just out of reach. Claws dug in to my leg while I was distracted, and I cried out and hit the offender in the face with the potion I held; he fell away, and I swooped in to the air for a moment’s respite. The collars were the key. The collars told the werewolves who to attack, and who not to attack. If the collars told the wolves to attack me, and not to attack Caius, it was because someone had made that decision. Someone wanted me attacked, but not him. Caius was protected. Caius was in league with the person who had sent the werewolves – with Palucid Nox. Caius had the Mirror which was supposed to save us all.
Horrified, I tried to figure out what to do. I had to tell someone! But there was no chance to communicate, and while I had risen in the air, the wolves had pressed forward, and no cannon fire drove them back – it seemed to all be aimed elsewhere. And I might be the only one who knew the truth! It fell to me to stop him. If I was near him, surely what protected him would at least somewhat protect me? I doubted that was the case.
I tried, somehow, to come up with the solution to this problem. The unexpected, though, intruded, as it so often did. I had not realized I was drifting lower. I had not realized how high a werewolf could leap when taunted with an opponent seemingly just out of reach. No less than three of them grabbed on to me; one failed to find purchase and fell to the ground. One latched itself on to the end of my broom and just missed rending the flesh of my back – another strike would do it. And the third?
There are moments that change our lives forever. There are moments that we can never return from, never go back to. Only rarely do we realize what they as they are happening. As the werewolves teeth sank in to my leg; as gravity did it’s horrible job bringing the best down to earth, ripping my calf apart as it did; as my brain processed that the bite of the werewolf spreads its disease; as my blood started to boil in my veins and the moon started to speak to me; I knew what I had to do.
I had one potion left, and I had seconds before I became a beast. One freezing potion left. I never felt so lucky in my entire life. I cried, for in my death I would never see Marcus again, but at least he would not have the horror of knowing what I had become; at least I would not have the pain of losing him. Caius was still smirking. He looked in my direction like he knew what had just happened, but I didn’t care; he didn’t know what I was about to do.
Turning my broom, I flew towards him. The wolf clutching the twigs of the broomhead swiped at me again, scored a hit that might have caused me to scream moments before but which I now ignored, and then lost its balance as my speed increased. Caius fended off a mock attack, and began to fly nonchalantly towards the lake. The clutched the freezing potion in my hand and hurtled at him. I felt each second in my blood, each moment stretched as I felt my body changing and dreaded that I could reach him in time. How long did I have before I was a wolf, before I thought of nothing but destruction? I would be even worse than these monsters that attacked us, for I had no collar to make me safe. Would Palucid Nox find me and collar me and make me a pet? He’d enjoy that, I though, me in particular, the protégé of his former nemesis. Rage built in my heart, fury colored the world red, and I started to forget that even this anger was not me, it was the animal. The anger felt right. Seconds passed.
Caius looked startled only for a moment. He shouted something at me, but I didn’t hear. He didn’t realize what I was doing though. My body collided into his as our broomsticks tangled together. We nosedived. I didn’t notice. The potion I had been holding, clutching in preparation, now shattered as our bodies hit; freezing potion splashed all over both of us. I knew from using it in this battle what a good strike with it would do to a werewolf; one potion would be enough to do the same to two people. I wondered if we’d shatter when we hit the ground. That would be merciful for me, I thought. I felt a sudden and utter chill, saw Caius’ skin turn blue and etched in icicles, felt that sense of cold battle with the red hot anger that coursed through me, and the anger dwindled and cooled and then I was nothing but ice, wonderfully cold. I hoped Marcus would understand. This was the only way. If I could stop Caius, we could get the mirror, and we could still hold back the wolves. If I became one of them, my life was over. This was the only way. The cold felt so very good. I wished I could say good bye.