The first thing Emily heard was someone's whining.
She opened her eyes and glanced at a narrow, high cage. Something small, similar to a human figure in torn rag curled up inside. After a moment, she realized that it was a house-elf in clothes. The elf received freedom from previous owners, but the pureblood society did not forgive it for this.
In the next cell, the girl was. Emily wrinkled her forehead, remembering where she could see that face, and found a distant resemblance to one Hufflepuff student. The girl was hard to recognize because her eyes had lost all expression of intelligence. Fear devoured her brain, and even if she survived that night, healing her would no longer be possible.
Identical grey cages stretched far forward, humans and non-humans of all ages and colors in each of them. Many were shaking with horror, someone was crying, someone was whimpering, someone was trying to howl, but the watchful jailers stopped it with one short flash of the spell.
Lucius called one jailer, said something short and quiet to him, handed him a magic wand and apparated away. A stern man with heavy brows, square face and bristles, grabbed Emily by the arm, dragging her almost through the entire lighted part of the camp, then pushed her into one of the free cages. It smelled of urine and showed traces of blood; someone pissed off the jailer.
Emily took a deep breath; she would be quiet like a mouse.
"You look good," the man grumbled, shutting the cage and sealing the door with a spell. "Be quiet and save your pretty face. The Hunt is about to start."
The jailer left, and Emily looked around. She needed to assess the situation. She turned her head to the left, to a nearby cage, and stared into the centaur's fierce eyes. The poor fellow had to curl unthinkably to fit into his container.
On the right, a little fairy was fluttering with burnt wings. She looked frail and defenseless, but in her small, sparkling eyes there was rage, and the jailers looked in her direction with caution.
Nearby, Emily noticed the wizards, who with obvious interest stared at her through the steel bars, and turned away. Not everyone survived the imprisonment, and these looked as if they would eat themselves from boredom.
The jailer was right. Emily didn't have time to see the other guests of this strange place as magic lamps lit up everywhere like spotlights. Prisoners began to move; someone screamed in surprise; someone began to beat on the bars of his cage. It took minutes to calm down violent ones, and only when there was absolute silence around, filled with a quiet murmur and intermittent breathing, a sharp voice spread over the forest. The voice of Anthony Mulciber.
Emily jerked back, hit the crate and pressed herself into the bars, clasping herself with her hands. She thought she could overcome this fear, but it turned out to be damn strong. Even stronger than before. The centaur next to her laughed, watching her. Emily came to her senses only after a while, having missed a meaningless introduction. Thank Merlin for that.
"... our holiday begins! We will return wands to you; we will release you. You can go anywhere you want! Stay here or go home. Arrange a picnic or go to bed under the most liked tree. It's simple. We will let you go if you can escape. Go for it, my darlings!"
Just as Lucius said: they promised freedom to everyone who can escape with a whole skin.
A sweet wave of anticipation overwhelmed Emily, and it took considerable effort to suppress it and force herself to deny this opportunity. Lucius said it was a trap, and he was interested in saving her life. There were many controversial points in his explanation, but it was not the time or the place to indulge in thinking about the deceit of the Malfoy family. She must survive.
All the jailers disappeared somewhere, the cages opened at once with a series of ringing clicks and in front of each of them fell a magic wand, as if someone invisible was dropping them from the air. Only the semi-magical races were deprived of this little joy. However, in front of the fairy, the sac with pollen fell, and in front of the centaur was his bow and a quiver of arrows. It was like the DADA exam; only there were no courteous teachers here and the death was peeping from behind each tree trunk.
Emily looked around, picked up her wand and rushed into the forest. Unlike the others, she was in a far better shape, spent not much time in an uncomfortable cage, and was warned about everything in advance. And now she needed to take refuge, shelter from both enemies and those who should have been on her side. One cannot be sure that after the days, and maybe the weeks spent in this hell, someone has kept their sanity. Here every man for himself.
"Emily! Emily Parker!"
She was making her way through the thick bushes, when several voices called her from behind. Emily turned around, put her wand in front of her, and squeezed her lips. She must survive at all costs.
The thought of Remus gave her courage. Then, at a career review in London, when her fellow students were everywhere, she was so scared of the Death Eaters that she could not move in the first minutes. And now, alone in the middle of an unfamiliar forest full of enemies, she was not at all afraid. She had someone to fight for.
A group of teenagers of about the same age climbed out of the bush in front of Emily. They all held wands in front, but there was hope, not fear, on their faces.
"Emily, I'm Olivia, from Ravenclaw," said the oldest of them, stepping forward. She was panting, she had cuts and burn marks, a huge multi-colored bruise disfigured her face, but she looked impressive.
Emily peered at her swollen face and nodded to herself, recognizing. Behind Olivia, two boys, it seems from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, and another girl who looked like a little animal, strangely enough was from Slytherin. Noticing Emily's look, she smiled apologetically.
"I dated the muggle-born," she nodded sideways at one boy, "and Sebastian Nott dragged us here."
They did not seem to lie and even wanted to help.
"We noticed you next to Malfoy, and I remembered that you were from my house. It will be easier together," Olivia said, nervously looking back from where the screams and the sound of a breaking bush came. "We must hurry. Are you with us or not?"
Teenagers shifted their feet. But they wanted to help, and it was hard not to appreciate it. Maybe it was a lie and a trap, but Emily could not afford to disbelieve them. That would be too much. Emily nodded.
She was wrong. She was scared, and she wanted to share her fear with someone else. For the first time in many days, she was among her own.
As a group, they rushed away, putting out their wands and twitching whenever a suspicious noise started close by. None of them was born for the war, and the DADA lessons still could not prepare them for this.
"Listen," Emily gasped. "Don't ask how I know, but they told me that those who would try to leave the forest would die."
"And you believed it?"
"I had my reasons to trust the source."
"And if we don't try, then what?" Justin, one of the two guys, ran alongside.
"I don't know, but in this way, we can save our lives."
"Lives in captivity?" he grimaced. "Fuck it! Better die trying to escape than─"
A howl interrupted him. They stopped all at once as rooted to the spot.
Emily, horrified, raised her head to the sky. The moon that swam from behind the clouds was beautiful today, so round as if someone circled it with a compass.
Full moon.
At Hogwarts, she always counted down the days to full moon, worrying about Remus' life and mind. But the endless days spent in captivity made her forget about it.
"Run!" Olivia shouted and rushed in the opposite from the source direction. All the others were behind her.
Werewolves.
That was worse than a death sentence. That was a sentence for hope. They dared to believe they had the chance to escape.
But this was just a bad, evil joke. They've been played.
✨✨✨
Regulus apparated into Sherwood Forest with everyone else. Mother made him be there. He resisted as much as he could in all the previous years, but this time Walburga was more than persistent. She even ─ that's incredible! ─ threatened the younger and beloved son with rods. Hearing this from mother was so unthinkable and strange that Regulus didn't think twice. He put on his best hunting suit, picked up a knife presented by his father for his last birthday, and put his wand in a leather portable case.
He apparated with Bella, who appeared on the threshold of their house, hot and breathtaking. She kissed Regulus on the lips instead of a greeting when Walburga turned away, and he blushed to the tips of his fingers.
Regulus, like many teenage boys, was afraid of crazy Bellatrix, but secretly dreamed of how great it would be to lick her velvety skin... At such moments he even forgot about Narcissa-almost-Malfoy.
"Regulus?" Avery called him. "Thinking about something?"
He smiled, following the gaze of the younger Black that was attracted to Bella repeatedly. Many looked at her, but she didn't pay attention to anyone. A queen without a king.
"No, I..." Regulus lowered his head, but Avery just slapped him on the shoulder.
"It's time to join our circle, buddy. Since you have the mark," Avery winked at him. "Relax, take a tighter hold of the wand and find yourself some mud-blooded slut. They like to be fucked by people like us."
These words nauseated Regulus. If he could somehow justify the presence of the guys here, then a noticeable number of girls plunged him into shock. The girls seemed to Regulus such beautiful, pure creatures like Narcissa, that he couldn't be able to stain them with the blood and mud of this place.
"By the way, your old girlfriend will be here." Jacob invaded his thoughts. "I guess her name is Millie. Molly?"
"Emily?" Regulus guessed.
"Oh, right? Emily. What a boring name."
Avery began to whistle a stupid melody and, without paying the slightest attention to Regulus's face, went somewhere to the empty cages. Other Death Eaters and guests dispersed in the forest, pulling out their magic wands from the decorated cases, talking and laughing. The ladies changed their shoes to comfortable boots, but some remained in evening gowns, only throwing heavy fur coats on themselves, as if they were just going to take a walk through the night forest with their lovers.
Regulus stood all alone, staring ahead of him.
The wind blew, the firefly lanterns swayed from side to side along with perennial tall trees. Despaired cries, laughter, screams of horror, bestial growls and many more sounds transformed this already unfriendly place into the real hell. And Emily Parker was there. All alone.
Regulus didn't understand what had happened and how long he had zoned out, but he woke up only when he tripped over some kind of root. He jumped over it and continued to run. He felt like a hunting dog that his father let out in search of game. Only this time he didn't drive a wild boar or a careless deer. He was looking for Emily.
He must find her first. He must save her. Like that night in the third year. He has to.
✨ ✨ ✨
When they heard this terrible animal howl and rushed away, Olivia with Emily had the idea that running had no sense. They needed to hide, or at least find a suitable place to keep defense. Emily didn't see the point, but there was more of it in this than in a senseless marathon in a night forest.
"Let's put a protective spell," Olivia said, and they began to weave spells around the perimeter. Thank Merlin, neither Olivia nor Emily missed DADA lessons and now, despite the fear, they could remember what they needed.
Justin and Kevin helped them. Miranda, a Slytherin girl, dragged branches and some other herbs to hide the human smell with the help of pine needles. Emily didn't believe in the success, but the little girl had to do at least something to not go crazy with fear.
When they finished preparation of the place, they all had no choice but to sit down, pressing their backs to each other, put their stiff hands forward with wands and wait for the guests. It was the worst ─ waiting.
"Stick together, we'll have a chance," Olivia whispered.
"If we sit here, we will never leave this forest," Justin replied.
"And if we continue to run, werewolves will overtake us eventually. If they jump on you from the back, you won't have time to turn around. And if you meet them here, armed..."
Kevin cracked up. The laughter was still nervous, but at any second it could become hysterical, and Emily was seriously worried about his mental health.
The crunch nearby had the effect of a trigger. They pressed their backs against each other harder, squeezing their wands in their wet palms and preparing to scream spells.
But it turned out not to be a werewolf, just a Death Eater. Just. When did she start thinking about the Death Eaters like that?
Judging by the sighs that came from all sides, she was not the only one who was almost glad to see the new guest. The Death Eater widened his eyes, then grinned and went straight at them. In his slippery vile smile, there was so much narcissism and confidence in victory, as if he would not fight, but devour the dish brought to him. The Death Eater raised his hand, and the kids waved their wands.
The bastard was well-trained. He put out a pair of different shields, dodged one attack, bounced the other with his own spell. And Emily could not utter a spell. She looked at the Death Eater and saw Mulciber's face.
Damn it, it wasn't him. This Death Eater was taller and more massive, but she saw Mulciber. She saw him everywhere.
Not understanding what she was doing, Emily screamed, picked up some stick, and rushed forward. Now it seemed to her the rightest thing to do ─ to beat him to the blood. Only in this way can she believe that he's dead if she sees his fractured skull and empty eyes.
The Death Eater was so surprised that he just stood still. Everyone froze. It was a murderous undertaking — to rush at a magic-armed wizard with an ordinary stick, but it worked.
The stick flew into the air and Emily slammed it into the face of the Death Eater. The man staggered from side to side, and collapsed face forward, almost leaning on the girl. She stepped back, dropping her weapon. Her hands were trembling, everything inside was shaking with the awareness of what could have happened if this guy were not so arrogant. Behind Emily, her companions in misfortune froze, stunned and delighted. Someone, it seemed Miranda, fired at a lying Death Eater a couple of spells that caused his skull to crack and his brain began to flow onto the dark grass.
Kids learned to kill.
Emily backed away to the shelter and collapsed on the grass, staring into the night sky at the round moon and gulping. Fear burst out of her, and she tried to shove it back. Because if she cries now, nothing will be left from her protection. Fear will destroy her.
Olivia was smiling, a little nervously, but with enthusiasm. The fair-haired Justin muttered something about the Gryffindor spirit. Miranda just cuddled next to her boyfriend and curled her lips in a frightened smile. Kevin already wanted to come up and pat Emily on the shoulder, congratulating her on the combat debut, but they were interrupted once again. Now this was what they were waiting for from the beginning.
Another growl came from the new side. A shaggy, elongated face, plastered with dirty grey wool appeared, teeth bared. The werewolf narrowed his eyes, pale yellow with black dots of pupils, and bent his paws before jumping.
Emily knew for sure that he understood everything what was going on. He transformed, keeping the mind, and now, intending to tear the children apart, he perfectly understood what he was doing.
The werewolf looked at her, licked his lips, and Emily could not stand it anymore. She screamed and rushed away. Someone shouted after her, called her and begged to come back. Someone shouted spells; someone tried to defeat a werewolf with that same stick. But all this was left behind, and around there was only a forest, black evil branches and flashes of enemy magic, similar to deadly fireworks.
If Emily knew that a werewolf would never touch her because of Lucius's ban, she would've been bolder. If she knew that her presence was the only thing that kept him from slaughtering the four frightened children, she would've stayed. But she didn't know that. And so she ran forward at full speed, ignoring hot tears flowing down her face.
And somewhere behind her, a huge grey beast was tearing apart a fourteen-year-old Miranda. Not because she dated a muggle-born. Because he wanted to.