The Lycanthrope

Chapter 1

All my life, I had read about it in books. The werewolf bite does this. A werewolf has this. A werewolf does this. It had always seemed like a condition that could happen but wasn't likely. A disease. People warned me of them, told me to fear them, told me to attack them, but for all my life, I just didn't really... care.

It had happened as I was just heading inside. I was walking back after having tried my new broomstick, and I heard a low growl in the bushes. I had to investigate. As I went closer, I heard the noise of the growl grow louder. The hairs on the back of my neck tingled. I could feel something was wrong, and yet, I did not hesitate to investigate further. Then it happened. In slow-motion, at least to me, a big grey wolf came out of the bushes, springing on me. One thing I noticed was that it didn't look particularly like a wolf. It seemed kind of... deformed. The wrong shape for a wolf. It looked starven and its eyes looked human. Its long tail was very straight, and it snout seemed too short for its head. As I tried to run away, I tripped on my broom, which I had dropped, and scrambled to get up, but did not in time. The werewolf bit me, and I knew that if it continued eating me, it would kill me. Suddenly, my friend came out of the house; he had gone inside before me, as I needed to pack up our Quidditch balls.

"Hey, Prudens, when are you coming in?" he asked, but then he saw it. He whipped out his wand and yelled, "Expulso!" The werewolf was blasted back, and I could feel it's hot breath leaving my face. I heard a whimper as it ran away.

I lay in the grass, contemplating what had just happened. I had been bitten by a werewolf, and as everyone knew, when you are bitten by a werewolf...

"Did it bite you?" my friend, Dan, asked, crouching next to me. I didn't have the strength or will to speak; instead, I just raised my hand and pointed towards the point on my collarbone where it had bitten me.

"Oh damn..." he said, his voice trailing off. "So now, you're going to be-"

"-A werewolf," I replied, finishing his sentence. We both sat there, contemplating what would happen next.