Miss Malfoy

Chapter 8

     More scratching came from behind the stag, which, to Trixie and Lily's shock, suddenly turned into James Potter.

     "Evans, Malfoy, what are you doing here?"

     "The better question is- "

     "Never mind, just go! Quickly!" James interrupted Lily.

     The scratching gave way to a grey shape emerging from between the roots, and suddenly James was a stag again, pushing in between the bewildered girls and the new arrival.

     There was a chilling howl, and Trixie realized what they were dealing with. A werewolf.

     Lily realized around the same time and froze in terror.

     Trixie swore.

     A black dog emerged behind the werewolf, but Trixie wasn't focused on that.

     The stag bucked at the werewolf, trying to steer it away from the girls, but the werewolf swatted it aside.

     Trixie watched as if in slow motion as the werewolf lunged for Lily, the black dog stretching up to tackle it. There wasn't enough time. In the half-second she had left, Trixie mentally ran through the spells at her disposal, noted that none would work on a werewolf, and with no other options, flung herself in front of her frozen friend.

     The teeth met her side, and Trixie clenched her jaw as she felt her ribs crunch. Luckily, she was angled so that only her bottom two ribs on the left side were shattered, otherwise her lungs would be in danger.

     The pain hit her like a fiery tsunami, then the teeth left her and suddenly she was being crushed as the black dog landed, and both the wolf and the dog landed on top of her.

     In the distant background, she could hear Lily screaming, and then the two animals rolled off of her, and from blurry eyes, Trixie watched the stag that was James Potter and the dog that must be Sirius Black forcing the werewolf back down the tunnel.

     "Trixie!" Lily was suddenly hovering over her, Trixie realized vaguely that she was lying on her right side where she had landed. She could feel the blood pooling from the bite on her side, and the stark contrast of the hot blood against her cold skin was startling. Her broken ribs felt sharp and painful under her skin, and every shallow breath was a struggle.

     Then Lily was joined by James and Sirius, both bruised, but otherwise looking unhurt. Trixie could faintly hear James asking Lily if she was hurt, and Lily replying that she was not.

     Sirius looked close to panic. "We have to get her to the hospital wing." He was saying.

     Trixie, hazy as she was, had put the pieces together, and knew exactly who the werewolf was.

     "Don't." she rasped, reaching out to stop Lily as the ginger started to stand.

     Lily laughed a little, sounding a bit hysterical. "Trixie, you need medical attention. We need to take you to Madam Pomphrey."

     Trixie shook her head. "I won't do that to Remus."