A Broken Slytherin : Lunar Loss (Book 3)

The Escapee

The forest in which y/n l/n was wandering through was quiet. Eerily so. Not even her feet on the dry earth could break the formidable silence enveloping her. The air was cold and still, no wind blew around her to disturb the slumbering tree's branches. Each step she took, she held her breath, for she felt that any sound she made would bring about unwanted attention towards her. She didn't want to upset the peace if that's what you could call it.

Her surroundings felt oddly familiar, but in the middle of the night, with only the creepy iridescent light from a full moon making its way through the canopy of dark, looming trees to guide her, y/n couldn't place whereabouts she was. It certainly wasn't the forest she so frequently ventured into next to her home. The Amber Woods was green and warm and welcoming. This place was dark and stale and unsettling. y/n didn't know where to go, she just wanted to get out.

Just then, a monstrous howl echoed through the forest, making even the trees seem to shiver. y/n's ears pricked up at the noise and she whipped around to face the direction it came from. To her horror, a giant dog-like creature was bounding towards her, teeth bared and eyes swimming with savagery. It was like y/n had been plunged deep underwater, the sound of the beast chasing her and her strained panting as she sprinted away were muffled and distorted. She felt like she was drowning and trying desperately to break the surface. She reached for her wand and began to shout incantations and hexes in an effort to ward off the beast, but no matter how loud she cried no spell was produced. y/n looked down at her weapon in horror before backing up preparing to flee. She tripped and fell back hard on her back, forcing all the air out of her lungs.

She tried to get up in her winded state but froze when she saw the beast only meters away from her. It leapt into the air with its strong hind legs, teeth bared and saliva dripping out of its mouth. Just as it was about to land on y/n and engulf her face, it morphed into a ghostly figure with no face and nobody, only a grey cloak that flowed around it like it was underwater. It opened its horrifying gaping hole of a mouth and a deafening maniacal cackle sounded around her before everything turned to white.

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y/n awoke with a jolt and her heart beating quickly. That was the seventh night in a row that the beast's attack had plagued her dreams. Normally, y/n could barely remember her dreams or if she even dreamed at all, but this dream hung off her like a persistent reminder of what she would face the coming night. She was pulled from her bed by the prospect of food and a lovely looking day outside.

Once she came to her bedroom window and opened the heavy black blinds she indeed saw what was a fine day ahead of her. The sun was shining, birds were singing a merry song, and the warm summer breeze caressed her face when she threw open the window. Everything was an extreme parallel to what y/n's life was just months ago. But now that she was home and she didn't have to worry about cursed diaries or deadly creatures lurking beneath her or the prospect of losing her friends. Her friends Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger and, surprisingly, Draco Malfoy, frequently wrote to her and asked about her activities in the current Summer holidays. She wrote back about the blissful nothingness she was doing and told them of how excited she was to see them once term restarted.

She padded down the carpeted halls of her grand manor, a skip in her step and opening up all the curtains that she passed to allow the glorious sunshine to cover the house.

Once y/n came to the grand staircase the lead to main parts of the ground floor, she mounted the railing and slid down, whooping for joy as she flew down to the ground. She landed, ever so gracefully in her opinion at the bottom of the stairs and flung up her arms like gymnasts did when presenting at the end of an elaborate routine. She waved and bowed to an imaginary crowd and was surprised to hear an actual applause.