ELIXIR: A Harry Potter Fan Fiction

Twenty One. The Full Moon.

 Marlowe held Caiti's hand tightly as they slipped up the path back to Hogwarts, hurrying back as fast as they could. They were determined to beat everyone back to the common room so they could set up an even better celebration party than last time. One that would not be ruined by Amelia. Caiti kept shrieking as she hit patches of ice, nearly losing her balance, but the terror quickly turned to laughter.

It was fully dark now, a bright orb-like moon shining high in the sky, hanging over their heads. They looked at each other, grinning. The moonlight was just enough that he could see how pink her cheeks and nose were from the cold. Her teeth chattered violently behind her smile.

It occurred to him how rarely he had been this alone with her. If it had not been so cold, he might have been less inclined to rush back for the sake of Sean.

A short ways up the path, he felt Caiti's hand tug hard on his. She had stopped without warning. He skidded to a halt, doing his best to stay steady on the slick ground, and backtracked a few steps to her.

"What's-" he began to say, but Caiti shushed him.

"I thought I saw something," she whispered. She sidled closer to him so that their arms were stacked, Caiti's shoulder just behind him.

"Saw what?" asked Marlowe, voice low.

"I don't know... just there..." She was looking at a spot some twenty five feet ahead of them, just off the path. Sure enough, he could just make out something in the dark. What, he was not sure.

Marlowe took a few tentative steps forward, Caiti close behind. As they neared the place, Caiti stepped on a patch of ice that cracked loudly under her foot. The thing moved; it was alive. They both stopped, dead still. It raised it's head, revealing great, gleaming dark eyes, eerily human in shape. It was looking right at them. Then it bared its teeth and Marlowe breathed "Run."

They took off, struggling to stay upright on the slippery ground. Marlowe had a horrible, horrible feeling that he knew what was behind them. It was only a few seconds before his suspicion was confirmed. The creature let out a loud, high whistle, and then he could hear it's four feet pounding against the ground. Their head start would be nothing against a werewolf.

Already, he could hear its heavy breathing, even louder than Caiti's terrified gasping breaths next to him. This time, he did not bother being quiet. "Turn!" he yelled, and he pulled her to the right, into the snow. He fumbled into his pocket for his wand, pointed it over his shoulder and said, "Stupefy!" A jet of light shot out the end of his wand but missed the wolf.

Caiti tried to locate her wand as they ran on. They hit a particularly slippery spot in the frozen ground and, without either arm free to help her balance, she tripped. She screamed and her hand yanked out of Marlowe's grasp, miraculously not bringing him down with her. Caiti slid a few feet away and he scrambled to help her up, but at that moment, the wolf shot out in front of him, knocking him to the side, and dove at Caiti.

"No!" yelled Marlowe. In a moment of utter stupidity, he lunged at the wolf, knocking it to the side. They rolled over twice, Marlowe ending up on the bottom, pinned to the ground. He heard Caiti's scream again, this time not just frightened but anguished, cracking, and then he felt razor sharp teeth sink into his shoulder.

---

The scream was impossible to miss. Everyone that had not already begun the trek back up to school froze. All talking ceased at once. Then, into the quiet, Sean said loudly, "That's Caiti." His face had gone very white. He felt lightheaded. What had happened to make her produce that sound?

Evelyn gripped Sean's arm, her eyes wide. "How do you know? Sean, it could be anyone."

"You're an only child," he snapped, starting to walk at once. He shoved through the petrified crowd, Evelyn at his heels. "It's like instinct. I know that's her." Once they had passed through the crowd, he broke into a run. Shouts were growing louder as they moved. He heard several deep voices send stunners in unison, but nothing was louder than Caiti who continued to scream, now one word, continuously, "No! No! No!"