nowhere | dramione

Run.

"You'll be fine, will you, Mudblood?"

"Shit," I muttered. I should've stayed with Harry and Ron, I knew that the second I stood up to leave. Now, I was staring desperately into the shadows, trying to comprehend the large shape in front of me. It was surely too broad shouldered to be human, and towering too. My mind suddenly leapt to Hagrid: could this be another half-giant?

"I said, you'll be fine, will you, Mudblood?" I saw the thing in front of me's large front teeth glint as the light from my wand bounced toward it. With a gasp, I staggered backwards into a tree.

Fenrir Greyback.

Of course, Hermione, you idiot. We're right behind Malfoy Manor, of course they'd have Death Eaters patrolling the woods. Stupid, stupid girl.

Greyback was advancing slowly toward me. "WILL YOU, MUDBLOOD?" he yelled, bloody spit spraying from his ugly jaw.

"Stupefy!" I screamed, before turning and sprinting the fastest I've ever gone in the direction of the tent. But - wait - what direction was the tent? Stop overthinking, Hermione, just get away from this monster. Run.

"Well, well, won't Lucius be pleased to see what creature I've found lurking behind his house," I heard him hiss as he heaved his oversized shoulders off the ground.

Run, Mione, run. Run, Mione, run. My feet drummed a rhythm on the leaf-strewn floor, which I chanted to in my head. Run, Mione, run. I could hear footsteps behind me and I didn't dare stop. I was so focused on running that I didn't notice the stream until I was teetering on the edge of the bank. I could still hear the footsteps behind me. Panicking and sucking in a huge breath of air, I plunged into the river.

I had prepared myself for cold water, but this was ice. I clamped my hand aggressively over my mouth and simultaneously dug my nails into my arm to stop my screams. Recovering a little from the shock, I noticed a log lying from one side of the river to another like a bridge and swum underneath it. At this angle, I couldn't be seen from the bank.

The vicious footsteps of the werewolf slowed. I could hear his ragged breathing and savage sniffing and I stayed absolutely silent. I was confident that the water would've washed off most of my scent, but even still I thought my heart hammering against my ribs was loud enough to alert him.

"Where did that filth go?" I heard Greyback mutter as his feet rustled somewhere behind my head on the muddy track near the bank. I sank my teeth into my bottom lip to prevent even the smallest squeak escaping my mouth.

Suddenly, his pacing footsteps stopped completely. "Aha! What... have... we... here?"

Paralysed with fear, thoughts raced through my head, most of which involved authoritative figures in my life yelling at me for being so fucking stupid for leaving Harry and Ron. And what were Harry and Ron thinking? They'd probably woken up by now, only to find me missing. Harry would be kicking himself for leaving me alone and Ron - oh my god - I hadn't even apologised to him for rejecting his stupid kiss - stupid girl, don't think about kissing now!

Greyback resumed his stalking, this time slower and definitely in my direction. Silently, I pulled myself as tight to the bank and underside of the log as I could, a sharp rock digging into my back.

"Here, pretty, pretty, pretty," he leered. I was thankful I couldn't see his greedy expression and heart-stoppingly petrified that he could see my terrified one.

He stopped again. This is it, I thought, and I never got to say goodbye to anyone. Never got to make a difference for anyone.

I heard him sharply draw in a breath, then his mangy claws slamming into something barely a metre from my head.

"Rabbit," he said. "You'll do. Not a Mudblood, but you'll be a nice starter."

He hadn't seen me! I was - no, I wasn't safe, he was still there searching. What's worse than putting myself in danger, I realised that if he knew I was here, he'd probably guessed that Harry and Ron would be too. I squinted my eyes to push back the tears. Now my best friends were in danger because of me.

I'd really screwed up now.