Madam Villanelle regretted ignoring Professor Trelawney's warning just before the Halloween feast had started.
It's the owls, the scrawny witch had mumbled, nearing Madam Villanelle. They are making a ruckus. Dying, I believe. It's an omen like never before — thought ought to let you know — an omen of death.
Based on the prima facie account, there were at least three scores of Werewolves running rampantly within the Hogwarts walls.
Madam Villanelle rushed through the corridors, her face losing all color imagining the worst scenarios.
She wasn't running toward the dungeons, though.
Madam Villanelle's destination was the 3rd floor's corridor.
She knew what was secured behind those doors. With the obvious diversion tactics at hand, she couldn't afford the orchestrator to go for the object.
Everything had already been going downhill since the Battle of Legends. The last thing this world could afford was to lose the Philosopher's Stone to the dark side as well.
She took a sharp turn.
The malice reached her soul before the growl could ever enter her ears.
Madam Villanelle's wand swirled and the incoming werewolf got blasted far into the distance.
Her encounter with Ekrizdis had left her traumatized, becoming the biggest irony.
That's why she had refused Dumbledore when he had offered her this position at Hogwarts.
Now, every time she thought about taking the Book, she feared that the Lord of Azkaban would descend upon her and steal her control over it. That would be the end of her and the students, she knew.
Suddenly, Madam Villanelle heard steps.
The hair on the back of her neck stood up. Was it the perpetrator of this werewolf infestation? Was it Lord Voldemort? Was it Ekrizdis? Or worse… was it… The Yellow Warlock?
Despite being a reincarnated legend, Madam Villanelle wasn't sure she could take on that yellow hideousness. Not without using the Book and backed up by the Six's powers at least.
Her heart thumped inside her chest.
Yet, her wand-hand lifted.
Come death, she would not let anyone get away. She would not let anyone harm the children. Not while she still breathed. Not while there was magic inside her. And beyond!
From the darkness, Calm walked out.
…
Madam Villanelle, stunned, stared at Arlen Black, the first year Gryffindor.
"Why are you…"
Before she could ask the student for the reason for his presence here, someone else slithered out of the darkness.
"Professor Snape?"
Snape eyed the dark-skinned witch with a flat look. "Madam?"
"Cough!" Black eyed the witch oddly, cleared his throat, and then walked between the two Professors. "Love sparks…"
Slam!
Professor Snape slapped the back of Black's head. "That's another 10 points off Gryffindor. How many have you lost your House till now? 50?"
Madam Villanelle's jaw was hanging low. What's going on?!
"What are you doing here?" she asked Snape, her gaze shifting between him and Black, "and with a student… This is…"
Professor Snape couldn't find any reason to explain himself. Then his eyes narrowed. "And where were you going, Madam…" he asked, his voice barely a whisper.
Black rolled his eyes.
"I've been tasked by Professor Dumbledore to watch over the 3rd floor's Corridor," Madam Villanelle explained.
"Has he now?" Professor Snape asked, a sneer dancing on his lips. "A… marvelous coincidence."
"What do you mean?"
"… Nothing."
Madam Villanelle and Professor Snape narrowed their eyes at each other.
"Are you coming from the dungeons, Professor?" Black asked, breaking the distrusting mood. "How's the situation there?"
Madam Villanelle found it odd that a first year was being so casual with her.
Till now, only Darcie and Daphne had enjoyed such a privilege. But, as per her job, she was making her peace with this friendliness as well.
"Professor Dumbledore and other Professors are in the dungeons still," she told them. "Majority of the werewolves are there, but I've got reports that at least two dozen have left the dungeons and now prowling somewhere in the castle."
A dark shadow fell over the two Professors.
Black frowned. "Is Hermione alright, then?" he asked, looking at the witch.
A chill ran down the Professors' spines. "What do you mean?!" Madam Villanelle asked, her eyes widening like saucers. Even Professor Snape had walked past Black and was now facing him, his mouth opened.
Black looked at the two idiots and then explained.
Madam Villanelle's hands shook. "I… did not see anyone near the girls' bathroom."
Professor Snape didn't even say anything. He just turned around and almost ran toward the girls' bathroom, his dark cloak billowing listlessly behind him.
Madam Villanelle also threw out the Stone from her mind and ran to catch up with the Professor.
Black slithered, yawned, and then shook his head, two yellow crystals dancing in his eyes.
*
*
Harry, Ron, and Hermione ran like three rabbits chased by an eagle.
High on their heels was a werewolf, one of its legs twisted beyond measure.
The beast kept growling at them, its bloody eyes devouring the three prey many times over. It was mad.
The three children running for their lives knew this, too.
Only a few minutes ago, they had been pressed between two hideous beasts.
Harry and Ron didn't know what had possessed them. Just as the two werewolves had lunged at them, both boys had cast a brilliant Levitation Charm on pieces of broken sinks near them. The huge stones hit the two beasts in midair, changing their trajectories.
Coincidentally, the claws of the newly arrived werewolf landed on the leg of the beast they had slammed into the ceiling before.
Getting their chance, they had run out of the bathroom.
However, there had been neither Aurors nor Werewolves waiting for them outside.
With death dancing in their minds, the boys and the girl had picked a random direction and began running. When they had looked over their shoulders, they saw a ravenous beast limping toward them as fast as it could.
What about the second Werewolf?!
The question had surfaced in their minds, but only briefly.
Argghhhhhhhh!
Harry heard the growl, his legs almost giving out.
"Hermione!" he shouted, forgetting she was running just next to him. "Do you know any Spell?!"
Hermione knew many spells, fortunately.
Unfortunately, she knew no magic that would work on a werewolf.
Not without her stopping and taking her time to cast it upon the beast.
Ron was faster than both of them, but not braver. He kept throwing his head here and there, trying to find a corner to hide.
Right, left, and right.
They kept running and the werewolf kept chasing them, its smell never leaving their noses.
Suddenly, taking another left turn, they saw a dark gap between two walls.
Harry and Ron exchanged glances and ran into the gap with Hermione.
Before the werewolf could take a left turn, too, and see them, they lifted their wands and fired sparks, filling the space with blinding green flashes.
Aooooooooouuuuuuuu!
They heard the mad howl of the beast, but then it began fading into the distance.
Ron slumped against the wall, panting.
Harry hadn't fared any better. With a hunched back, holding his knees, he kept taking long breaths. His glasses had cracked, he noticed.
"Thank… you…" Hermione hissed under her breath, tearing.
Harry was about to smile at her when he smelled something nauseous. He recognized the smell.
Ron must have picked up on it as well. With a face, paler than paleness, he forced himself up and looked at the corridor just outside the dark gap.
Where is it?! The boys questioned.
Two red dots glowed bloodier than blood behind Hermione.
The boys spun fast. They lifted their wands fast. They thought fast. Just not fast enough.
The towering Werewolf opened its hideous jaw and plunged its fangs into Hermione's shoulder.
Blood painted Harry and Ron's faces, her scream deafening their souls.
**************
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100 Power Stones: +1 Bonus Chapter