Ellis Potter

Why sensible people stay in bed on a full moon night

Ellis was frozen in horror. Then a bark brought her to her senses. She slowly reached down to her dressing gown pocket and then cursed in her mind. Trust me to leave the castle with no wand, she thought, trying to be calm. Then as a twig snapped behind her, she bolted, running as fast as she could away from the beast, flat out towards the castle. She could hear a pounding behind her and several barks. It sounded like the beast wasn't alone. Seeing a tree she ran towards it, thinking off climbing into the branches but...

The branch swung and sent her flying into the air, coming to smack into the ground hard a few feet away, where she lay, winded and bruising.

Drool dribbled onto her head and she looked up trembling, terrified. With a slimy grey face and tufts of fur sprouted out of its back, a werewolf was baring down on her, its mouth open to reveal huge powerful jaws. She screamed, trying to crawl away but the werewolf swiped at her with a clawed paw, the sharpest claw going straight through her cloak and into her back.

"HELP!" She screamed clutched at the grass, closing her eyes tight, willing the beast to make it quick. Just as she was about to scream again, she heard the thunder of hooves and the patter of claws and in one swoosh the werewolf was off her. She kept her eyes tight shut, the pain in her back was too much.

Growling, snapping and snarling filled the silence, as the stag and the dog kept the werewolf at bay. The dog was stood protectively over Ellis, who was limp on the ground, a long, deep cut down her back. Every time the werewolf tried to get nearer the dog snarled and bared its teeth. The stag was wrestling the werewolf toward the whomping willow, where a hole could be seen by the trunk, just big enough for a person to get into. The stag reared unto its hind legs and kicked at the werewolf, who growled then froze, its ears alert. A howling was coming from inside the forest. It snarled once more, then took off towards the forest.

The stag snorted, then looked over at where the dog was, a sorrowful look on its face. The dog nodded to the stag, the closed its eyes. A second later, Sirius stood where the dog was and was instantly on his knees next to Ellis, who lay still.

"Ell?" He turned her over. Her eyes were closed tight and her face pale and screwed up as if in pain, her chest rising and falling rapidly. "Oh my god."

James ran over an dropped down beside him, clutching at his hair. "Oh my god this is all my fault." He shook her. "Ellis wake up!"

Her head lolled uselessly from side to side. "Prongs."

James looked up at Sirius with tears in his eyes. "We have to get her to the hospital wing," Sirius said, trying to hold back the panic in his voice. "I'll transform and carry her." James nodded quickly. Sirius closed his eyes and transformed. James lifted Ellis carefully onto his back and Sirius sniffed her, then began to run towards the castle, James in hot pursuit.

"What in merlin's name happened?"
They were in the hospital wing, having woken Madame Pomfrey who was tending to Ellis, and who had in turn woken up Professor McGonagoll who was now glaring at them in a purple dressing gown.

James and Sirius shifted uncomfortably. "Uhh we were...you see Professor...we were going-"
"-for a walk!" Sirius interrupted.
"Yeah a walk!"
"And then we went to the whomping willow-"
"-just to see if we could get near enough to touch the trunk-"
"- and then we found Ellis."
Professor McGonagoll stared at them for a moment. Then she said, " I see."
The boys let out a sigh of relief.
McGonagoll's mouth twitched. "50 points will be taken from Gryffindor and I will recommend that you draw your nighttime wonderings to a close boys. Particularly in these dark times."

-Sirius' PoV-

She still hadn't woken up. Professor McGonagoll had told us to go back to the dormitory, but as soon as we were out of Minnie's sight we snuck under the invisibility cloak and headed back in the direction we had just come.
Why hadn't we told her? Hell, what was she doing going for a walk in the middle of the night anyway? A cold hand crept across my heart when the image of her, limp on the floor with that huge gash on her back, swam to the fore front of my mind. She would be okay. She had to be. I was going to take her to Hogsmead next weekend. I swore quietly under my breath and vowed silently that i would ask her out myself the moment that she was better.
James, like me, was silent as we entered the hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey was no where to be seen but Ellis lay on a crisp white covered bed, her eyes closed. For a second, my heart stopped, and then she let out a deep breath and relief projected into me.
She was okay.
Without any words, James threw off the cloak and ran to her bedside; he stared at her for a few seconds then he threw himself onto the bed and hugged her fiercely. I chucked the cloak on the floor and approached them, Ellis began to stir as James whispered over and over, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She moaned and I was suddenly on her other side, attempting to prize James' hold on her.
"Get off Sirius," James growled. Anger flared in me but I reigned it in.
"Mate, you're gonna hurt her."
James contemplated this, then released his cousin from the embrace and set her down gently on the pillows, standing up and ruffling his hair in agitation.
"This is all my fault," he whispered to me. "If only I had told her in the beginning... Padfoot, I did this to her."
"No, you didn't Prongs," I put my arm over his shoulder, supporting him. "This was bound to happen sooner or later. It's no ones fault."
"Thanks for trying to make me feel better mate, but I know you blame me too." James chuckled dryly. Then the figure on the bed stirred and her lips parted as she rasped, "James?"
He was there in less than a second, knelt down and holding her hand. Jealousy burned my insides. I should be holding her hand.
"Ellis?"
Her eyes opened a fraction. My heart skipped two beats. Her eyes...the familiar hazel- green had gone. Her eyes were a dark, ominous red.

Hello Readers! To anyone reading thank you so much for your patience, I know I am terrible when it comes to updating regularly but I hope you enjoyed this chapter! And to anyone who has read my POTC fan-fictions thank you thank you because they have hit 1K reads!!!!
~freewitch