It Rains

Hope

Warning: 

The following content depicts graphic violence and gore. Reader discretion is advised.

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Laurel had her face pressed against the windowpane, trying to discern in the shadows of the night, the dark figure of the wizard who had just left the room. A second howl made her skin crawl with fear. Fear of thinking that Severus had really gone after the werewolf. She tried to locate where that terrible howl had come from, but under the full moon it was only possible to see the outline of the hills in the distance.

"He can't be that foolish." - she said to herself, anguished. - "He has gone to Hogwarts; he has gone back to the castle. He is safe".

She paced back and forth in front of the window, like a caged animal, trying to convince herself that if she repeated those words over and over again, they would become a reality. And even though she tried to swallow the fear, it stuck in her throat, stinging her insides.

"He is safe. He is at Hogwarts". - Her voice broke. – "He will be back".

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The wizard had apparated as suddenly and as silent as the shadow of a ghost, in the middle of that forgotten megalith, overrun with scrub and rubbish. The site was clearly used by some of the day laborers from neighbouring farms to spend their free time lounging around and drinking alcohol (given the huge number of beer bottles and cans) unseen by the scrutinizing eyes of their foremen.

In the dark, he noticed the footprints of the werewolf's massive paws and a bloodstained boot. The shreds of the garments of some unlucky man who had had the misfortune to come across the monster were caught in the bushes, indicating the path that Greyback must have taken when capturing its prey. He slowly raised his eyes until he saw a rock formation at the top of the hill. In the distance, he could hear the faint moans of a man. He took a firm step and apparated.

The stench of faeces and decomposing bodies was the first thing he felt as he moved to the entrance of a small cavern hidden among the rocks. His shiny shoes were stained as he materialized right over a large pool of blood and scattered around him, the carcasses of at least a dozen of what were once unsuspecting victims.

Pointing his wand at himself, Severus felt the icy spell run through his body, making him totally invisible and with anger still built up in his chest, he stepped into the darkness of the cavern. His eyes adjusted quickly: Greyback, transformed into a hulking beast, was holding the mangled body of a young Muggle. Its prey was still alive, his erratic and hyperventilated breathing, his legs flapping in the air, were proof of this; but his mutilated neck, his face turned into a mass of flesh and his eyeball hanging from a socket, left no doubt that the wretch would have the fortune to die in the next few seconds. Greyback ripped off an arm with a snout full of sharp fangs, making a sinister noise as it parted flesh and bone. A stream of thick blood shot out, staining the rock walls and splattering the wizard's face, who, unfazed, moved a little closer to the beast. It did not seem to notice the presence of Severus, as it was busy licking the blood that smeared it completely and growling in such a macabre way that it almost seemed a laugh. The wild blue eyes were fixed on the corpse and with its claws, cracked open the rib cage, beginning to tear off pieces of bloody organs, devouring them eagerly.

Severus wasted no more time, using his utter hatred and disgust, he began to walk in circles around the werewolf, widdershins, reciting in his mind, the dark incantation to paralyze and trap the beast in his magic circle. Turning around for the sixth time, he pulled a small bag of dried sage, aconite, and moonstone powder out of his pocket, and knowing Greyback would immediately realize it was being trapped, he put aside any stealth. He ran like lightning, flinging the contents of the bag in the direction of the werewolf and completed the seventh circle.