Equanimity

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Part One; Chapter Seven

—Close Encounters

"Rem?" Natalie called out, a frown on her face and her eyebrows pulled together. She had been searching for ten minutes for her daughter. It wasn't like her to just up and disappear. Carina would always tell her mother before she left the house, knowing how worried the woman could get.

"Yeah?" came the reply along with a muttered curse as something heavy dropped to the floor. The sandy hair of her best friend immediately showed up to the living room where Natalie had her lip pulled between her teeth. "What's wrong?" he questioned immediately upon seeing the worry on the woman's face.

"Did Carina tell you she was heading out?" Natalie asked quickly, her worry only deepening at the shake of Remus's head. "She's not in the house. She didn't tell me she was leaving!"

"Alright, alright," Remus hushed her, gently running his hands over her arms. "I'm sure she's just playing in the woods. We'll find her, Luna." He gave her a gentle smile before he quickly tugged on a pair of boots and the two exited the house, splitting off when they entered the woods, calling out Carina's name. They had agreed to send a patronus if either found her.

Natalie's hair was standing up on the back of her neck within five minutes of separating from her best friend and she hesitantly pulled out her wand, holding it tightly in her grasp. It was quickly beginning to grow darker the longer she was out and a chill had crept in the air. The forest was eerily silent and she cast a quick Lumos to light her way, holding the wand higher, though she hadn't relaxed her grip on it.

"Carina!" she called out, her voice borderline hysteric at that point. "C'mon, baby, where are you?" She continued to walk down a rather narrow trail, having to duck under branches as she searched for her twelve year old daughter. Her mind was practically screaming at her that something was wrong and her instincts hadn't failed her yet.

The sound of a bush rustling to her right immediately had her spinning towards the sound, her wand moving to a more defensive position as her heart pounded rapidly in her chest. "Carina? Remus?" she called out softly. Her breath caught in her throat when a ragged man appeared.

Hair covered his face and neck and his nails appeared to be more like claws. The smile he gave was what scared the woman the most though and her hazel orbs widened in slight fear. Sharp canines adorned his mouth, and she could see spots of dried blood on the corners of it. She immediately panicked at the thought that this monster had somehow gotten ahold of her daughter.

"Natalie Potter," Fenrir Greyback cooed, his dark eyes glinting darkly under the light from her wand. "Have to say, I wasn't expecting to meet you." He gave a dark chuckle and stepped forward, grinning in dark amusement when the woman took a fearful step back.

"Oh, c'mon, love," the man cackled, growling lowly. "I just want to take a look at you. Want to see the resemblance you and your daughter have."

That caused Natalie to stiffen, and her eyes narrowed at the man in anger. "Stupefy!" she cried out, pointing her wand at the man who immediately snapped his own wand up to block her spell.

The two traded spells for a long minute before Greyback had aimed at her feet, the spell causing her to fall onto her back with a groan. She reached for her wand, but the man quickly pounced, his knees on both of her arms as he smiled darkly down at the woman who had let out a small yelp of pain. He took a deep breath before licking his lips.

Just as he leaned down, a low growl was heard and both the witch and werewolf snapped their heads to the side to see the form of a very large, black, dog baring its teeth. Its eyes were narrowed into slits as it stalked towards the two, its feet thumping heavily on the ground. Without hesitation, it leapt forward, tackling Greyback off of Natalie.

The woman wasted no time in grabbing her wand and bolting down the path, not waiting around to see the outcome. She stopped though at the sound of a soft cry coming from above her. She looked up, nearly crying in relief at the sight of her daughter hiding among the branches. "Oh, thank Merlin," Natalie whimpered out.

As soon as Carina's feet touched the ground, Natalie quickly grabbed her hand and brought her daughter into a run back towards their house. The sound of padded feet running behind them had her speeding up, dragging her daughter along quickly. She screamed when arms wrapped around her, shoving her daughter back before quickly moving to punch who ever had stopped their run.

"Nat!" a husky voice said quickly. "Natalie! It's me! You're alright!"

Natalie stopped her assault, sobbing in relief when she saw it to be Remus. She looked behind her at the trail with panicked eyes before she pulled her crying daughter close once more. "Rem, it's Greyback," she whimpered out, keeping her daughter close and her wand held to her side.

She saw Remus's eyes flashed amber, anger shining through at the fact Greyback had tried to harm his pack. His jaw ticked, and he brought both girls closer, drawing his own wand as he listened carefully. When the sounds of heavy breathing, that wasn't either of the girls, reached his ears, he quickly pushed them ahead of him. "Pull out your wand, baby," he instructed Carina softly, wiping her tears quickly. "Don't use it unless it's absolutely necessary." He made the two run in front of him and as soon as they reached the house, he quickly put up wards. As soon as that was done, he rushed inside to the two women.

Natalie had her arms wrapped tightly around her daughter, brushing back her hair soothingly. She was doing her best to hide how petrified she was for her daughter's sake, but she had never felt the fear she did when Greyback had mentioned Carina. She never wanted to feel that again. When Remus opened the door, she had spun around, pulling her wand out quickly. She only lowered it when she recognized the man and she let out a shaky breath. "We need to leave. We have no idea how long he has been in the area," the woman said quietly. She didn't dare send her daughter to her room though, not wanting to let the young girl out of her sight.

She watched as Remus only nodded his head, his eyes still a bright shade of amber. She knew it would be a while before Moony relaxed. She quickly moved around; her wand raised as she sent their belongings into a trunk with an undetectable extension charm on it. She moved around each room, repeating the charm with her daughter close to her side. She could see Remus following them closely behind them, unwilling to let the two women out of his sight.

When all of the rooms were completely packed, she snapped the trunk shut, letting out a shaky breath as tears filled her eyes. They were leaving. They were leaving the place that had been their home for twelve years. The thought caused a painful ache in her chest, but she wouldn't stay here if it put her sweet girl in danger. She would never risk that.

"We can stay at the Leaky Cauldron until we find a new place," Remus said gently, pulling the distraught woman into a firm hug. He hated this. Not only had Greyback ruined his life, now he was ruining Natalie and Carina's as well. Once again, he wished more than ever that that monster was dead.

Natalie nodded her head and stood back as Remus apparated with her daughter and the trunk first. She knew better than to apparate in her condition, knowing full well that was practically a wish to get splinched. So, she waited until Remus returned. Within the next minute, Remus was back at her side, taking her hand. Right before they apparated, her eyes looked out the window to see the large black dog.