Chapter 19- Pureblood Knowledge of a Different Kind
Ginny watched Draco walk away, tears welling unexpectedly in her eyes. Blinking furiously, she turned and went in the direction of Hagrid’s hut, wandering aimlessly while she tried to work out her knotted up thoughts. Draco had told her at Christmas that he was evil; he’d said it outright! Yet he’d gotten angry enough when Sirius had called him a Death Eater that he’d started shooting curses. Could he possibly be changing?
Ginny sighed and turned back in the direction of the castle; it probably wasn’t a very good idea to be out here alone. She’d taken about two steps when a long, eerie howl broke the silence behind her. She whipped around, and something very large galloped past on her right. She whipped back around, eyes straining to see in the darkness. Whatever had been behind her was now in front… between her and castle.
“H-hello?”
Ginny’s voice shook, and she could feel beads of sweat breaking out on her forehead. Panic was quickly rising in her throat, and the ominous silence just stretched on. Ginny realized that just standing in the light of the full moon wasn’t doing anything, and she couldn’t take it anymore. She took one step toward the castle and heard something else move, too.
An enormous creature was stepping into the small radius of Ginny’s vision, and she could almost feel her heart stop from fear.
“Oh my god.”
The words just barely squeaked out of her throat, and Ginny found that she couldn’t move. Even if she’d wanted to, something told her that wasn’t a good idea, because she’d just recognized what this creature was: a werewolf. Its long snout sniffed the air as though not sure where its target was, but those vertical yellow eyes were looking directly into Ginny’s, and she was paralyzed.
How long they stood like that, prey and predator, could’ve been a few minutes or an eternity. All Ginny knew was that the moment her eyes flickered to the castle for less than a second, the werewolf pounced.
Ginny was later fascinated at how time seemed to slow down in that moment. In slow motion, she obeyed her instinct, which was to drop and cover the back of her head and neck. Even with her eyes closed, she could see the werewolf coming toward her, his snapping jaws just inches from her hair. A second before she imagined contact was coming, a snarling sounded from her right, and something hit the wolf hard.
Ginny’s eyes flew open as time resumed its normal pace and found a violent, bloody fight taking place only a foot from where she lay curled on the ground. A large black dog was fighting with the werewolf, claws tearing at the other monstrous creature. As she watched, and to her horror, the werewolf managed to throw the dog off, and its yellow eyes once more turned to her. Its long jaws now had blood and bits of fur hanging from them.
Her next course of action was something that Ginny would berate herself for endlessly later on. She knew, of course, that running away was the worst possible thing she could’ve done at that moment, because it would further enrage the werewolf’s perception of a hunt. So what did she do? Turn and run, of course.
Ginny tore her eyes away from the wolf and ran as she’d never run before, legs pumping at lightning speed, nearly falling from going so fast. However quickly she was running, however, the werewolf was faster. It dashed past her and skidded to halt sideways, blocking her path to the castle. Ginny could just see the detail of the stone, but she knew that to try to cover those last few feet would be suicide. The werewolf, killer instinct functioning in full now, stalked slowly toward her, breathing heavily. Ginny took one step backward and it pounced again. This time, no bear-like dog came to her rescue.
Ginny managed to dart aside before those long jaws dug into her, but the vicious claws of one of those curled paws tore into her back, digging long furrows in her delicate skin. Ginny screamed, falling, realizing through her pain that she was about to die. The werewolf thrust out with its other paw and was once again pulled away from its prey by another large animal. This time it was a stag, large and tawny-red, that pushed its antlers into the wolf.
“What’s going on ou’ here?”
Ginny almost cried with relief at the sound of Hagrid’s voice booming across the grounds. Her scream must’ve roused him. A sudden light blossomed from the end of a pink umbrella that the half-giant carried, and he took in the situation with a glance. Ignoring the werewolf, which was fiercely engaged by both the stag and the dog, Hagrid lifted Ginny roughly and ran to the castle, bellowing at the top of his lungs.
It was a few days before Ginny felt able to move around freely, and she was already beginning to regret her decision to return to classes; the deep tears in her back were burning something awful. She’d just made up her mind to go back to the hospital wing instead of to lunch when a familiar voice floating up the corridor stopped her.
“Moony, you’ve got to quit beating yourself up. It could’ve happened to anyone.”
“No, it couldn’t have, James, because not everyone is a-”
Remus, the one who was speaking now, rounded the corner and stopped before he could complete his sentence. The four Marauders just stood and looked at Ginny, Remus quite guiltily, and Ginny looked back. A few minutes passed, and the Gryffindors turned awkwardly to go back the way they’d come.
“Wait!”
Ginny’s half-shout caused the Marauders to stop, and she strode quickly over to them. Without giving herself a chance to change her mind, she threw her arms around Sirius and kissed his cheek. He was beginning to close his arms around her when she pulled away and did the same with James. It was a few seconds before she released him and turned to Remus. One slim, dark finger went to trace a long, very recent scar down his cheek, then her green eyes met his golden ones; she held his gaze for just a moment, then turned and walked away, trying hard not to cry.
The Marauders just stood there in stunned silence. After a few minutes, Peter spoke his first intelligent words all day. “She knows.”
Ginny watched Draco walk away, tears welling unexpectedly in her eyes. Blinking furiously, she turned and went in the direction of Hagrid’s hut, wandering aimlessly while she tried to work out her knotted up thoughts. Draco had told her at Christmas that he was evil; he’d said it outright! Yet he’d gotten angry enough when Sirius had called him a Death Eater that he’d started shooting curses. Could he possibly be changing?
Ginny sighed and turned back in the direction of the castle; it probably wasn’t a very good idea to be out here alone. She’d taken about two steps when a long, eerie howl broke the silence behind her. She whipped around, and something very large galloped past on her right. She whipped back around, eyes straining to see in the darkness. Whatever had been behind her was now in front… between her and castle.
“H-hello?”
Ginny’s voice shook, and she could feel beads of sweat breaking out on her forehead. Panic was quickly rising in her throat, and the ominous silence just stretched on. Ginny realized that just standing in the light of the full moon wasn’t doing anything, and she couldn’t take it anymore. She took one step toward the castle and heard something else move, too.
An enormous creature was stepping into the small radius of Ginny’s vision, and she could almost feel her heart stop from fear.
“Oh my god.”
The words just barely squeaked out of her throat, and Ginny found that she couldn’t move. Even if she’d wanted to, something told her that wasn’t a good idea, because she’d just recognized what this creature was: a werewolf. Its long snout sniffed the air as though not sure where its target was, but those vertical yellow eyes were looking directly into Ginny’s, and she was paralyzed.
How long they stood like that, prey and predator, could’ve been a few minutes or an eternity. All Ginny knew was that the moment her eyes flickered to the castle for less than a second, the werewolf pounced.
Ginny was later fascinated at how time seemed to slow down in that moment. In slow motion, she obeyed her instinct, which was to drop and cover the back of her head and neck. Even with her eyes closed, she could see the werewolf coming toward her, his snapping jaws just inches from her hair. A second before she imagined contact was coming, a snarling sounded from her right, and something hit the wolf hard.
Ginny’s eyes flew open as time resumed its normal pace and found a violent, bloody fight taking place only a foot from where she lay curled on the ground. A large black dog was fighting with the werewolf, claws tearing at the other monstrous creature. As she watched, and to her horror, the werewolf managed to throw the dog off, and its yellow eyes once more turned to her. Its long jaws now had blood and bits of fur hanging from them.
Her next course of action was something that Ginny would berate herself for endlessly later on. She knew, of course, that running away was the worst possible thing she could’ve done at that moment, because it would further enrage the werewolf’s perception of a hunt. So what did she do? Turn and run, of course.
Ginny tore her eyes away from the wolf and ran as she’d never run before, legs pumping at lightning speed, nearly falling from going so fast. However quickly she was running, however, the werewolf was faster. It dashed past her and skidded to halt sideways, blocking her path to the castle. Ginny could just see the detail of the stone, but she knew that to try to cover those last few feet would be suicide. The werewolf, killer instinct functioning in full now, stalked slowly toward her, breathing heavily. Ginny took one step backward and it pounced again. This time, no bear-like dog came to her rescue.
Ginny managed to dart aside before those long jaws dug into her, but the vicious claws of one of those curled paws tore into her back, digging long furrows in her delicate skin. Ginny screamed, falling, realizing through her pain that she was about to die. The werewolf thrust out with its other paw and was once again pulled away from its prey by another large animal. This time it was a stag, large and tawny-red, that pushed its antlers into the wolf.
“What’s going on ou’ here?”
Ginny almost cried with relief at the sound of Hagrid’s voice booming across the grounds. Her scream must’ve roused him. A sudden light blossomed from the end of a pink umbrella that the half-giant carried, and he took in the situation with a glance. Ignoring the werewolf, which was fiercely engaged by both the stag and the dog, Hagrid lifted Ginny roughly and ran to the castle, bellowing at the top of his lungs.
It was a few days before Ginny felt able to move around freely, and she was already beginning to regret her decision to return to classes; the deep tears in her back were burning something awful. She’d just made up her mind to go back to the hospital wing instead of to lunch when a familiar voice floating up the corridor stopped her.
“Moony, you’ve got to quit beating yourself up. It could’ve happened to anyone.”
“No, it couldn’t have, James, because not everyone is a-”
Remus, the one who was speaking now, rounded the corner and stopped before he could complete his sentence. The four Marauders just stood and looked at Ginny, Remus quite guiltily, and Ginny looked back. A few minutes passed, and the Gryffindors turned awkwardly to go back the way they’d come.
“Wait!”
Ginny’s half-shout caused the Marauders to stop, and she strode quickly over to them. Without giving herself a chance to change her mind, she threw her arms around Sirius and kissed his cheek. He was beginning to close his arms around her when she pulled away and did the same with James. It was a few seconds before she released him and turned to Remus. One slim, dark finger went to trace a long, very recent scar down his cheek, then her green eyes met his golden ones; she held his gaze for just a moment, then turned and walked away, trying hard not to cry.
The Marauders just stood there in stunned silence. After a few minutes, Peter spoke his first intelligent words all day. “She knows.”
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