Hiraeth | Regulus Black

Chapter Fifty Eight

"W-was that a werewolf?" Levi's hands began to tremble as the group looked around, trying to locate the source of the noise. Though it proved impossible in the dark.

"We need to get out." Regulus instructed harshly, "Now."

Esme shook her head, her feet remaining planted firmly on the floor, "The thing is... Ignatius... You didn't just put me in harm's way. I can deal with that." She stepped forward, pressing her wand against her brother's chest so deeply that he had to stumble backwards, "You put Regulus at risk. There would have been nothing I could have done to stop it. You can't do that again."

"Woah, calm down. I did tell you this would happen, you can't act like it's a surprise." Ignatius argued bitterly.

"Esme!" Regulus tugged at her arm, urging her to follow him, "We all need to leave! Now!"

Another howl sounded out. This time much, much, closer.

"You know everything, Ignatius. You know all there is to know. That means my friends are also in danger. No matter what they've done, I won't allow you to cause any harm to Dirk or Levi. You won't put Piper in danger. I can't let you hurt any of them." She threatened, her eyes growing dark.

"Avery!" Levi called out, "Now isn't the time! We can sort this out later!"

"Esme, listen to me, please." Regulus begged.
Hearing this, she immediately turned to look at him - her eyes brightening slightly. She saw the desperation in him to escape the forest and finally gave in, "You're right, let's go."

Levi, Regulus, and Esme turned to hurry out of the clearing but, as they turned their backs, there was a sudden flash of blue light that caused them to stop.

"OBLIVIATE!"

The trio spun around just in time to catch a glimpse of Ignatius hitting his head against a tree as he tumbled backwards and fell to the ground.
Standing over him was Dirk Cresswell, who's hand was trembling as he clutched his wand in the air.

"Cresswell," Esme gasped, "What did you do?"

Dirk lowered his wand slowly, taking a moment to come to terms with what he'd actually done. "I think I might have fixed our problems?" He suggested quietly, turning around to face them.

"W-what?" Regulus frowned.
Levi stressed, "Now really isn't the time! In case you've forgotten, there might be a werewolf coming our way!"

"What did you do to him?" Esme pointed at her brother, who was now unconscious on the floor.
Dirk sighed, "So now you're concerned about him? I'm good at charms. He shouldn't remember anything about tonight or what I did. I doubt he'll even remember who Levi and I are - the spell came out a little stronger than expected."

No matter how much Esme wanted to scream at him, the boy was a genius.
She would have been half tempted to just transfigure her brother into a slug if she'd had her way.

"You're an-"
"Avery!" Levi shouted.

A third, final howl shook through the trees. It wasn't far away now.

"Why would you pick tonight to come to the Forbidden Forest? We need to go!" He cried desperately.
Esme scoffed, "I didn't think the rumours of werewolves were actually true."

"Now really isn't the time!" Regulus reminded them, "We need to run."

"We can't leave him behind!" Esme gestured to Ingatius, "We need to bring him with us."
Regulus gritted his teeth together and muttered under his breath, "I knew this was a bad plan. I knew it but I kept my mouth shut. Now look..."