Bedknobs and Broomsticks [HP fanfic; BNB Book 1]

Into the Woods

Mariah kept an eye out for the Marauders for the next day or so, but they seemed to have disappeared from the castle altogether. She didn't even find Lily until dinner, when she'd expected to see them all, but a sudden Slug Club meeting had interrupted their meeting before much had been said. Confused, Mariah had returned to the common room alone and waited there for anyone to return so that she could speak to them. By curfew, none of them had returned, and Lily returned too tired to talk about anything. Mariah let her go with the promise to tell her later. One by one, the other students retired as Mariah continued to wait, but soon the common room was empty but for her, and the fire even was making its departure.

Eyes sore from staring into the flames, she stood finally and walked to the window, looking out at the grounds. The moon was full, and there were no clouds, so the lawn shone silver, bathed in a celestial light right up to the edge of the black trees of the Forbidden Forest. Mariah heard the clock striking eleven in the corner and closed her eyes, leaning on the sill and pressing her forehead to the cold glass. When she reopened them, however, something caught her attention.

There, running across the grounds, was a small figure she recognized after a moment to be James. Another figure came into view and caught up with the first, and Mariah recognized Sirius. A ways behind them lagged a third figure- Peter. Mariah waited for a fourth, but Remus did not seem to be with them. Mariah quickly marched to the portrait hole and pushed it open, heading towards the grounds.

It was cold, and her robes fluttered as she dashed across the lawn towards the Forest. A flutter of fear made her slow for a moment, but she kept going despite it. She had never been into the Forbidden Forest before, though she knew that the Marauders had been countless times. She had heard stories from them about centaurs and other things, but she'd heard, too, that werewolves roamed through the trees from the other students. But, she thought reassuringly, she was a seventh year now. Surely the Forest couldn't be that dangerous for someone who was almost a full witch? Surely...

All sense of security vanished upon entering the trees. Mariah sprinted over roots, looking around for her friends and listening hard to hear anything over her own heartbeat. After a few minutes of running, she stopped, looking around. There was nothing. She struggled to hear movement, but could only hear the wind in the trees above.

Then she heard something that made her spine tingle and the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. A distant sound that was actually not so distant. A howl...

Mariah turned around and began to run, hearing her footsteps crashing on falling leaves as though she were shattering glass. The trees seemed endless. Then another feeling hit her: uncertainty. She couldn't remember coming this way. Had she turned around in the right direction at the clearing?

Mariah reached into her robes for her wand. The moon had lit her way, but under the trees it was darker, throwing more shadows that made deceptively monstrous shapes on the trees.

"Lumos," she whispered, and a ball of light sparked from the end of her wand, illuminating the area around her. Mariah heard her own shaky breathing and tried to calm down, taking a step backwards to lean against a tree. Her heel hit something squashy that was not the forest floor.

She screamed, and leapt aside, seeing a small furry creature scamper away into the underbrush. A rat...just a rat. Mariah sank to the roots of the nearest tree, trying to breathe slowly enough to calm her throbbing heart and start thinking clearly. She was lost in the Forest, check. She had her wand, check. The stars were out, check. If she could just manage to gain some sort of direction...

There was the sound of something running, then, and Mariah hastily whispered "Nox," hoping that whatever it was would pass her by. She heard the footsteps slow, and then...