The Daughter of the Murderer - BOOK 1 - *COMPLETED*

Chapter 37 - Night Owl

"Guys!" Moony yells from afar, "We have to get to the castle now, it's getting late!".

We hurry towards them and walk through the dark Grounds, the lights of the castle becoming bigger and bigger.

I look at the sky again. You can barely see the stars anymore. Clouds fill the night sky, hiding even the shiny full moon.

Wait... the shiny... full moon? Oh no...

"Moony...?" I whisper.

He turns to me, "Hm?".

"Did you um... did you take your potion today?"

Please tell me you did...

His eyes widen and he says, "I um... I didn't have time... but it's okay, don't worry, the sky is cloudy now, the moon won't shine on us..."

Still, he seems more worried than ever.

We keep walking and walking and walking, Snape still passed out, magically 'walking' thanks to Dad who's still pointing the Potions Master's wand at the teacher himself.

Then, I feel an unexpected light shine above us. In front of me, Dad stops his tracks. It seems like Moony in front of him did too.

"Moony..." Dad says, "Hey, c'mon, it's okay, keep walking, c'mon"

But he doesn't. He stays rooted to the spot, looking up at the moon.

I walk to him and take his hand.

"Remus, please... you're stronger than this... you can handle it, we can handle it..."

He's still not moving though. I hear Hermione whisper something behind us, but I honestly don't care.

I look at Moony. His sweet almond-coloured eyes are now goldish and big, no sweetness left in them. His head is getting bigger, his body covered in thick dark fur.

"Run, kids!" Dad yells.

I run to the Trio, "Guys, go to Hagrid's hut and make up some excuse to be there at night, or go to the Forest or the castle or whatever. Just get away from here!"

"And how 'bout you?!" Ron asks, while I take off his handcuff.

"I'll have to help here I guess... Dad's weak, and werewolves are really strong; you know that... But go on, run!"

They hesitate but end up running somewhere.

Dad is still trying to... calm down? a transforming Remus.

"Dad, you know the transformation won't stop like that..." I say, running to them.

"Jupiter?! What are you doing here?! I told you guys to get away!"

"Harry, Ron, and Hermione are safe... I hope..."

"Yes, but you're not! Get out of here, J!"

I hear a muffled shriek from behind me. I turn around to see Pettigrew catching Moony's wand.

In a small second, I decide that I have to do it. This is an emergency, I promised myself that I would only use it for emergencies. I spent all of the Summer holidays training for this. And I was lucky enough to be able to do it in only about three months. Most people are not so lucky. Most can't even complete the process. I mean, most don't even try. Maybe they don't need it, though it always comes in handy. Especially when you have to stop a rat-man from escaping.

So, I quickly transform into the tawny owl that I usually do and fly as fast as I can towards the wand, catching it with my beak.

Pettigrew looks surprised, but then while I sense Dad turn into a dog behind me, he makes an evil grin and turns into that rat again.

With Moony's wand still trapped in my beak, I fly above the dark grass, trying to find Pettigrew. It's hard to find a rat in the middle of the grass, especially if it's night-time, but since owls have great vision, I might be able to find him.

I fly and fly and fly and then... I see a little creature running away. When I'm near the ground, ready to catch him, I hear a bark that makes me stop.

A bark that's so agonizing that it makes you want to cry. It comes from the Lake.

'Ah, screw it' I think, leaving Pettigrew and flying to the Lake.

When I get there, I feel a breeze that's so cold, a feeling that's so sad, that I become human again.

Dad's there, near the Lake, surrounded by more than a hundred Dementors flying around.

"Dad!" I yell.

He looks at me, "J-Jupiter? Run, please, run... go away, get out of here..." his voice seems to be fading.

I see Harry and Hermione arriving.

"Jupiter!" Harry screams, and they run towards me.

"Remus taught you the Patronus Charm, right, Harry?" I ask.

He nods and closes his eyes, probably trying to think of something happy in the middle of this.

"Mione?" I ask.

She nods weakly, closing her eyes too.

"Expecto Patronum!" I yell, thinking of the day we won the Cup.

Not enough.

"Expecto Patronum!" the first time I transformed into an owl.

Not enough.

"Expecto Patronum!" when I saw Dad again.

A silvery mist emerges from my wand, big enough to protect Dad, Harry, Hermione, and I.

"No... please, he's... he's innocent..." Harry mumbles next to me, passing out.

"Harry, wake up" I say, shaking him, "Harry!".

Then I remember when I showed Harry the pictures of Lily and James's wedding. When I told him about the happy dinners we had together. The dinners we had together...

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

At the same time the silvery owl flies out of my wand, I see a silvery stag on the other riverbank. They seem to create a kind of barrier that chases away all the Dementors.

But I can't see anything else, because I lose all my strength and pass out.

A/N: helloooo my cutie nifflerssssss!! hope you're well and hope you liked this chapter!!

i gotta go so yeah

luv y'all

~luna loveniffler 💙