The beast was content as it feasted on its prey. It had a successful hunt and for the first time it had managed to catch and eat, no chains tonight. No captivity. It was completely free to do as it pleases. The best part was yet to come, from behind the beast there was the snap of a branch and it’s ears perked. It stopped mid bite and turned to see another human standing there by a tree, watching it. This was a gift from the night, more prey. Without hesitation it bounded forward away from its meal, ready for the next phase of the hunt.

The beasts claws tore into the dirt as it bounded after its prey. Their blond hair a stark contrast to the browns and greens of the woods around them, their scent different than their first quarry. The beast was more Into the hunt than ever with the taste of blood fresh on its tongue. Now that it had eaten the beast was willing to play with this Quarry. Keeping hot on their heels but never moving in for the kill, just hanging back and savoring the chase. Eventually the time came where it was done running, and with a snarl the beast moved faster and threw itself hard into its preys back and knocked them hard into the ground.

The beast snarled as it slowly circled its prey, it whimpered and spoke but the words made little sense to the beast as it stared intently at her. It would lunge and snap it’s jaws at its prey once or twice. At last it was time to end the game and claim its second kill tonight. The beast tenses and leaps forward, aiming its maw for their throat.

Suddenly there was a bright blue light and a loud bang and the werewolf was knocked midair away from Illowy. It hit the ground and rolled as Sean and Katlin converged towards the werewolf forming a V between the three of them. Next Sean moves his and through the air and points it at the werewolf again and withers was a white flash that cause the werewolf to go stiff as its arms and legs go straight and rigid. Without missing a beat Katlin drops and opens a crate and with a wave of her wand chains fly from inside and wrap tightly around the beasts, multiple locks snapping shut to secure them in place.

Once contained Sean rushed forward and checked the werewolf’s face ”oh no. No no no Kat. There’s blood. Check her!”

Katlin runs towards Illowy and frantically checks the girl for any bites or scratches, and when she finds none she presses her forehead against the girls before looking towards Sean again ”She’s clean, someone else has to be out here. Find them, I’ll get Kyle back home and see to Illowy”

Without hesitation Sean bolted, desperately in search for whoever or whatever Kyle had attacked while transformed. While he ran off Katlin pulled her niece into a tight hug ”sweetie this should never have happened...I am so so sorry...”

He was toying with her, only doing whatever he had to in order to keep her running. Was he trying to wear her out in hopes that it would make her too tired to fight? Maybe it was something a kin to how a cat played with its prey before it killed. Which ever it was, Illowy didn't care. She simply kept running as the beast herded her through the trees.

Peter S. Beagal.

The name popped into her mind. He author of a muggle book called The Last Unicorn. He was the one who wrote about not running from magical creatures. Muggle indeed, he really didn't know anything about magic. Another scene caught up in her mind. Kyle was her Red Bull in this moment, and she was the unicorn that he would chase to the end of the earth, herding her away with her own kind into the sea.

The fantastical memory was broken by a low snarl, claws gripping the dirt behind her as the beast finally took it's shot at the girl. It pounced on her, throwing all of its weight against her and the girl screamed until they hit the ground. It knocked the wind clean out of her, a jolt of pain wracked her torso as they slid a foot or two on the forest floor before it would jump off of her small body.

It circled her, watching her intensely until she found her breath again. Illowy couldn't take her eyes off of him, "Kyky, please stop." she whimpered before he made a threatening lunge, simply to get her to cry out, "Ky, its me! Magpie, remember?" she begged, trying to get through to him. Her Kyle was lost somewhere inside of this beast; unreachable to her, "Kyle, please!" she begged, watching the beast tense before it leaped for her.

The girl instinctively hid her face in her arms where she lay in the damp earth before a flash of blue knocked the beast away before it could touch her again. When she dared to look, she saw her Aunt and Uncle coming to their rescue. Yes, both she being saved from Kyle, and Kyle being saved from causing anymore regrettable damage. The entire time, all she could do was watch. By this point, everything was starting to blur together as the adrenaline wore off.

Her uncle was yelling, then her aunt suddenly appeared looking the child over. Auntie Katlin was like her mother in one specific way; she didn't scare easily. If they looked scared or worried, that was always how Illowy knew something bad was happening. In this moment, Auntie looked scared until realizing that any scratches were all superficial from the fall, and not from Kyle himself.

This entire affair felt like it was straight out of a nightmare, completely unreal. Yet, there was no waking up from it. Her eyes stayed glued to the crate, not for fear the beast would get out, but for the poor soul who was trapped inside. Illowy felt her aunt wrap her arms around the girl's small body and hold her close and she felt tears start welling, soaking into the woman's blouse, "It was a boy, Auntie..." the child whimpered, "Kyle hurt a boy..."

Sean searched through the woods for a time. He followed tracks left by his son as well as Illowy and who must have been the third party. As he moved through the woods he couldn’t help but feel responsible for tonight. It was his enemy that infected their son. It was him he couldn’t protect his family from the werewolf. And it was him who failed to properly restrain Kyle to prevent his escape. Finally he stumbled across a small clearing and he saw the scene of Kyle’s attack, whoever this person was they were certainly not going to be turning. They had passed on. With grim determination he moved forward to try and identify the victim. Though as he got closer he desperately wished he hadn’t. It was Duke. His sons best friend. ”Duke...why were you out here...” he asked in a defeated tone.

Katlin rubbed the girls back as they sat on the cold ground for some time. ”Sean will find them, he will make sure they are ok don’t worry. This is what we do dear” with a deep breath to steady herself Katlin got to her feet and helped Illowy rise as well. With a quick motion with her wand The paralyzed and chained up werewolf lifted into the air and and began to move in the direction of the DeRook home. Katlin out an arm supportively around the girl and began to lead her from where they were sitting. ”You have been through an experience...but Kyle is going to remember every second of what he did tonight. So please...remember that before you hold anything against him. He already...he already thinks he’s a monster. Tonight is going to undo every step we’ve made to try and make him feel like he is still our Kyle...” while she was desperately keeping the strong front of a seasoned Auror up the sound of a mother’s pain could still be heard in her voice. A night like tonight was the exact thing they had feared happening since their son was bit. In less than a year the worst thing that could have happened did, despite their promises to Kyle that nothing like this ever would happen.

Once back to the shed Katlin secured, double secured and triple secured Kyle to make sure once the spell wore off he would be unable to escape the shed again. Once done she led Illowy inside and started to make some hot chocolate for Her nice in an attempt to bring some normalcy back into the girls world. Once it was done the two sat together at the table before finally Sean returned, he stood at the back door, blood on his hands and his eyes red. ”It was Duke...” he said stoically. The boy had practically been a second son with how often he spent around Kyle. ”I need to tell his parents, and contact the ministry. You two head to bed...I’ll take care of this” and he silently turned and disappeared into the darkness of the backyard yet again. The weight of everything finally broke Katlins defenses and the woman began to cry. Both for the loss of a child, and for the horror Kyle will have to live with.

It didn’t matter what her Aunt might’ve said to try to comfort her. Illowy knew the truth. The boy wouldn’t be okay; he was long since gone from this world, but she couldn’t bring herself to admit that to her aunt right now. As much as the Auror may have been trying to put up a strong front for the child, Illowy knew better.

Accepting her Aunt’s help, Illowy carefully got to her feet, her boy aching after being tackled to the ground. With the adrenaline wearing off, she was much more aware of how much she really hurt; her ribs ached, surely bruised if not cracked. Her arms and knees were scratched up and bloody from hitting the ground and her shoulder ached... but none of the mattered right now. There were worse things then a couple of scratches and bumps. Her worries were more on her cousin.

The girl stayed close to the woman as they started back towards the house, her aunt calmly pleading for her to keep her cousin in mind, to not hold anything against him, and that he would remember this night just as well as she would. Illowy could hear the fear and pain in her voice as she spoke. This wasn't just some other beast or enemy her beloved Aunt and Uncle hunted down for a living. This was their son.

Desperately, Illowy wanted to find something, but for once she was at a loss for the right words. The girl took her Auntie's hand, holding it tight, unsure if it was an attempt to comfort Katlin or herself, "I'm not scared of him... I just..." she spoke so softly, she wasn't sure if the woman could even hear her as the words escaped her again and she swallowed hard, "I knew something wasn't right..." she whimpered out.

As they made it back, Illowy watched as the mother put her son down for the night. It looked so cold, even considering the warm summer night, he looked cold as he was laced with chains and sealed away behind steel. Her Aunt then quietly ushered her back into the home, having her sit at the table.

Illowy felt as though her mind wasn't working properly. As she sat under the warm, yellow light at the kitchen table, all she could find herself doing is looking down at herself, thinking about the ratted tank top, now ruined with blood and dirt. It was the first time since the Blossom Ball that she'd allowed her scarred arms to be in plain sight, especially to her family. Her own mother didn't even know yet.

A oddly cheery mug of hot chocolate was placed in front of her as Katlin sat beside her with her own mug, and they waited in silence. She dared not raise her head to look at her Uncle, already knowing what he was going to say... almost.

”It was Duke...I need to tell his parents, and contact the ministry. You two head to bed...I’ll take care of this,”

Illowy visibly tensed. Sure, she wouldn't go as far as to call Duke her friend, but more times then she could count did she trail behind him and her cousin on their antics, often trying to be a voice of reason before the point of no return. More then anything, though, she knew that boy was like Kyle's other half; his absolute best friend... and she'd laid witness to his demise. The memory rushed back to her and her face flushed, forcing back the urge once more to vomit.

Magnards do not cause scenes...
Magnards do not show weakness...

Her mother's words echoed in her mind. In this moment, she needed to be the strong one as he uncle left the pair behind to complete his duty. For her Auntie, this was the straw that broke the camel's back as the woman started crying. Never in her life had she seen a woman she looked up to like her Aunt or her mother cry. Magnards didn't cry... even her mother would have to agree that this had to be the exception to the rule.

She simply watched her Aunt for a moment, lost as to what to do before she rose from her seat and wrapped her arms around the woman as tightly as she could bare, "C'....C'mon Auntie..." she spoke softly, trying to keep herself together for the sake of the woman, "C'mon, Uncle Sean said its time for bed..." she urged the woman to come with her, bent on caring for the woman. Bent on doing anything to keep herself from thinking about what she'd just seen tonight.

With a hard sniffle and a shaky deep breath Katlin composed herself, of only just. Duke and Kyle has been inseparable since the boys could walk. Wherever you saw one the other was always close behind, and despite Duke being a Squib it was never an issue or a subject of discussion in the DeRook house. Holidays, birthdays, the occasional vacation. As often as Duke had been around one could be forgiven for thinking he was Kyle’s actual blood brother, and Katlin cared deeply for the boy. Despite the trouble they got into Kyle was never happier, more confident or more dedicated than when he was around Duke. So as upset as Katlin was over the loss of a boy she cared about, she was just as devastated at how this would affect Kyle. Of all the people for him to hurt tonight...

With one last steadying breath Katlin rose to her feet and gave Illowy a kiss on the top her head, her eyes red but her voice more steady ”I’m ok dear...let’s go. Sleep should help some.” The Auror led her niece upstairs and, wether to comfort herself or to try and comfort the girl she went as far as tucking her in, even though she was clearly old enough to not need it. Katlin gave Illowy’s hand a tight squeeze before getting to her feet and leaving the room. Once back in her room Katlin knew she wouldn’t be sleeping, who could guess when she would find sleep again. For now she stood at her window, and stared at the shed in the backyard, knowing her son was inside. Knowing he was going through pain and trauma she could never understand. The worst part was she afraid. She had seen blood on his fur, on is teeth. The next time she saw her son she would know what he had done, and she was scared. This fear made the woman guilty and ashamed...but she couldn’t get rid of the thoughts. No matter how hard she tried.

——————

Kyle let out a pained gasp as he woke suddenly, dawns light creeping through the windows of the shed and slowly illuminating the room. His body ached and his mouth was sticky, with a sickening copper taste. With a groan the boy would push the now loose chains off of himself and he slowly rose to his feet and stumbled forward a few steps. Then it all came flooding back to him. Duke breaking in, undoing his chains, watching the transformation, running in fear as Kyle hunted him, how he tried to fight back with a branch, how he... Kyle lurched forward and vomited onto the floor of the shed and he fell to his knees. The boy let out a long pained scream. He screamed until his lungs burned and his throat felt like it was bloody and raw. Kyle dug his fingers into the sides of his head and began to sob in between is pained screams of anguish. His best friend was gone. And it was his fault. That blood was on his hands and there was nothing he could ever do to change that.

He wasn’t sure how much time had past, but eventually he didn’t have the strength to scream or cry any longer. His eyes were dry. It was time to face the world outside the shed. With heavy reservations he stumbled forward and banged three times, with three seconds between each knock. The sign that he was Kyle and he was ready to come out. Instantly the door unlocked and Katlin was there. She tried to step forward and hug her son but he recoiled and held up a hand defensively. Kyle just shook his head and pushed past her and walking out towards the tree line where the chase started. His eyes locked on where he saw his print torn into the dirt. Silently he sunk to the ground and sat, his knees his arms resting on his knees in front of him.

Illowy was plenty old enough to tend to her own cuts and scrapes, and certainly old enough to tuck herself into bed; but Auntie seemed to need this right now and it felt wrong to try to deny the woman this small comfort. Maybe that was where Illowy got it from, the need to care for someone in times like this. Or it was possibly it all came from motherly instinct? After all, Illowy was the only child left in the situation the mother was able to protect.

The girl couldn’t bare staying put though. Just like her aunt, the girl never truly went to sleep. It took all of ten minutes laying in that bed for the girl to kick the covers off and padded barefoot once more against the carpet. She found herself doing anything and everything to try to keep her mind occupied; pacing, checking her bruises and scrapes, going to see out the window at the shed, and back again to pacing.

When the sky finally started changing from its vast blackness and lightening to a rich blue, she began to get ready for her day. It was still only the wee hours of the morning when the girl wandered outside, sitting out on the patio to now watch the shed from there. She was dressed in a simple, pale pink sundress and a sweater. Her hair was brushed, though she chose to let it stay loose around her shoulders, trying to keep the few scratches on her face hidden. Shoes had been completely forgotten about.

The sun rose slowly... painfully so as she waited. Eventually her aunt emerged from the home as well, both of them keeping their eyes locked on the shed for the first signs of Kyle coming back to them. Sudden rustling came from inside the shed, the rattle of chains being moved. However, no one might've known that it was simply the calm before the storm. Nothing could have prepared the girl for the screams of sorrow and agony that rattled her to the core. She thought it felt like an eternity before the sun would rise, but she was wrong. True eternity happened while waiting for the cries to finish. It clawed through her knowing that she had no idea how to help... no one did.

Silence... followed by three knocks. Illowy rose from her seat, stepping out barefoot into the grass. That was the queue as Auntie pulled the doors open and he emerged. Illowy wasn’t as quick to attempt affection as her aunt was. Pale eyes simply followed him, letting him have his distance for a time as he made his way towards the trees before plopping down in the thinning grass and dirt.

For a moment, the girl reached to touch the older woman, trying to signal for her to wait as the young Slytherin started for her beloved cousin. Bare feet silent as she moved, not saying anything as she came to his side, keen to leave at least a couple of feet between them to let him have his space.

She sat down carefully, body still aching, but she stayed aware not to let any sign of pain or discomfort show as she crossed her legs under herself, smoothing out her skirt and looking out into the trees. She had no right to it, to show pain. While everyone had been a victim in some way by the events of last night, Kyle's suffering was the worst by all agreement. The events had played vividly in her mind all night without rest... she could only imagine how it was intensified for him.

After a while of silence, Illowy turned to look at him. Traces of blood were still on him, he looked terrible and tired and... vulnerable. What was the right thing to say? Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you tell Duke? How can I help? The girl pressed her lips in a tight line before speaking, her accent thick, not caring enough today to try to smother it, “Do ye want some water, Kyky?” Lame... totally lame, but at least it was an opening.

Kyle sat for while in a bit of a daze. He kept playing the events of last night over and over in his head. Chasing Duke...catching him, running down and tackling Illowy, being attacked by his parents then captured and detained once more. No matter how many times he thought about the previous night it just kept running over and over and over. Finally he just let out a heavy sigh and he rubbed his face. He needed to do...something. Anything. Just sitting here thinking was going to drive him completely insane if he let it.

He is pulled from his thoughts suddenly as his cousin asks him if he wanted some water. He felt guilty as he looked at her but he cleared his throat and nodded ”y-yeah...that would be nice.” his voice Rasped after being yelled raw earlier.

—————

Sean stood before two Ministry representatives, his hands folded in front of him. He had a stoic look on his face as he stood in silence waiting for to hear the final decision made about the situation.

”Mister DeRook. We have spoke, and despite the tragedy we can find no fault on your part of your Sons. The only thing that could have been done was use of the wolfsbane potion. So, an agent will be charged with overseeing Your son being given the potion on the days leading up to his transformation and standing guard during the full moon. This will be the status Quo until his 18th birthday. Do you have any objections?”

Sean looked visibly relieved that his son was going to be able to stay home and continue his education. He was going to make sure he did everything he could to make sure nothing like this ever happened again. ”None sir. Thank you.”

When he turned to her, she couldn't help but analyze his fact. It wasn't with intent to pass any sort of judgment, but looking at him now, he seemed so different from her Kyle who she'd grown up with. That she trailed behind on silly, dangerous adventures with, trying to be the voice of reason. But now... it was really the first time she'd realized that they were both half way to being grownups; they were at that weird, and confusing middle ground of nearly teenagers, about to start their lives, and yet still children who weren't nearly as aware as they thoughts they were of the terrible things in this world.

In one year, so much had changed, much of their puerility had been stolen, just from this night alone; and there was no stopping from gradually losing it all together. It was a hard, and scary, pill to swallow.

The guilt in his eyes pained her. No one could deny differently that he knew what he had done, he knew that she'd been exposed to the horror of it, experiencing it along side him... and he knew that if it weren't for his parents coming in just the nick of time, she would be trapped in the same boat as him, if not suffering the same fate as his friend.

Illowy couldn't find it in herself to be angry at him, though. She couldn't be upset, all she wanted was to reassure him that everything would be okay. When he accepted her offer for a drink of water, all she could think to do was to offer a small smile and nodding before getting back to her feet and offering a hand to help him back up.

____________________________________________________________

Illowy stood quietly with her aunt, if not slightly behind her, as the representatives from the Ministry deliberated. Her eyes couldn't find a single face to rest on, bouncing around between each person and back again. Her greatest fear was for her cousin; unsure what would happen if he deemed him unsafe to be around.

Thankfully, that wasn't the case as they settled on a guard and a dosage regimen of wolfsbane. She'd have to make a note of it to look more into what that meant since she'd certainly never heard of it before. What eased her further was the look on her uncle's face; knowing if he looked relieved, then maybe everything would be okay.

When she was able, she went to Kyle's side, "What's wolfsbane?" she asked softly, tucking a bit of hair behind her ear, "Its not a bad thing is it?"

When the agents of the ministry came to collect him Kyle was convinced he was going to find himself in a cell in Azkaban. Since they day he was cursed he was sure it was going to end like this eventually but he never would have guess that it would happen this soon. Kyle wasn’t sure what was worse, the idea of being locked up forever or or how upset that was going to make his parents. Only time would tell it seems.

—————

Kyle blinked as he heard the verdict. He would be staying home, and he would still be permitted to attend hogwarts. Strangely though Kyle didn’t feel relieved, honestly he was disappointed. He felt guilty. Duke was gone, they would never hang out again, never share another joke, never get into trouble, and it was his fault. And he wasn’t going to pay for it. Kyle couldn’t help but feel like there was a huge injustice being done and he deeply considered yelling at them to lock him away but for the sake of his parents he chose not to.

Finally Kyle and Illowy we’re sent to sit in a waiting area while his parents and the ministry ironed out the logistics of the new arrangement. Kyle lets out a slight sigh as his cousin asked him about wolfsbane. ”it’s Wolfsbane Potion...have to drink it every day for a few days leading up to and on the day of the full moon. It taste like sewage. It...it lets you stay aware and in control while transformed” Kyle is brought back to the times he turned while under the influence of the potion and how intense the pain is, how jarring and upsetting it is to see himself transformed, the feeling of being awake in the body of a monster. ”it’s like living a nightmare”

Illowy wasn't able to get herself to sit for very long as the pair waited in the waiting room for his parents to finish with the ministry. For the love of everything decent, she wanted out of there so badly she'd mount a broom if she had to; and Illowy hated flying. She only sat again as Kyle explained the potion to her, and its consequences. The effects seemed both appealing, but also intense and upsetting.

Resting against the back of the chair, the girl raked a hand through her curls, hopelessly scanning her mind for something, anything, that might help. Surely she'd read something, learned something in class or even just heard a rumor... but her mind was blank. She simply knew nothing about the condition, and therefore was helpless to be any sort of help; and that killed her, "'m sorry, Ky..." she couldn't help but take some blame, "I knew something was up with you an' that something was wrong an'I jus'... I should've figured it out an' not been so dense an' maybe I would've been able t' stop him..." she could feel her voice threatening to break and quickly stopped talking. The girl refused to cry, especially here where she'd make a spectacle of herself.

Maybe if she'd pushed for more answers so she could be more aware of the situation. Maybe if she'd just ran a little faster, managed to distract Kyle long enough for Duke to get away and for her Aunt and Uncle to catch up to them, maybe if she'd just... done more, maybe then things would have turned out differently. Duke wouldn't be gone, Kyle wouldn't be torn up over the whole situation, and no one would have had to get hurt.

The girl mentally berated herself as her pale eyes fell to her hands in her lap, adding this to the growing list of situations where if she'd just done more, been better, if she hadn't been so scared, or ran faster, if she hadn't been such a selfish person, then the people she cared about wouldn't keep getting hurt. Weak minds didn't have the best logic; and had she been stronger mentally, she'd never settle for taking the blame of all of the misfortunes of the past year on her shoulders. That wasn't the case though, and especially after this, she couldn't justify confessing to her own mental struggles when Kyle needed the support more.