Bad Moonlight

"BAD MOONLIGHT"

Chapter two-The First Kill.

Ron and I just froze. The figure was seven feet tall and covered in dark gray fur. Its ears were long, thin, pointed and erect with fur on the tips. It's bright, jaundice colored eyes were like a cats with vertical pupils. It had a long, thin snout with powerful jaws, which held white canines and incisors on both the upper and lower jaw. It had hand like paws, where sharp, dark nails grew and curled into claws. The feet, or hind paws, which it was walking on, were long and similar to humans. It walked on the balls of its feet, almost on its toes. To me, it looked like a dog walking on its hind legs, but the shoulders were broad. It smelled like a dog hadn't bathed in weeks and gasoline.

Ron and I were holding our breath. It dropped to all four paws and galloped down the corridor.

It was quite some time before either Ron or I moved. I slowly let out my breath.

"What was that?" I asked.

"I don't know, but I reckon we should go in and see if Madam Pomfrey is okay," said Ron in a small voice.

"We really aren't supposed to be here, but if she's hurt, we have to help her," I said, as I pulled off the cloak. We entered the wing. We stopped dead in our tracks.

The wing looked like Peeves had gone on a warpath. A few of the cots were overturned; the rods where the coverings hung were hanging down at angles; the medicine cabinet door looked like it had been punched and small bits of glass scattered the floor underneath it.

"Madam Pomfrey? Are you alright?" I called as Ron and I stepped further into the wing.

Hermione's bed was now shielded from view by the coverings. Luckily, that thing must not have known she was there. I gladly let out a relieved sigh.

"Madam Pomfrey?" I called again.

Ron went over to Hermione's bed and gently pulled back the coverings.

"Um, 'Arry? I think you should see Hermione," said Ron in a voice that sent chills down my spine.

I quickly went over to him and pulled back the coverings a little more. Hermione was still curled up into a ball. She was asleep this time, but she twitched oddly and was sweating, like she had a high temperature. I gently pressed my hand against her forehead.

"She's burning up. We really need to tell Madam Pomfrey," I said as I scanned the wing and began looking for her.

Suddenly, my foot bumped into something. I looked down. A foot was poking out from underneath one of the overturned cots. Panic swelled in my chest.

"Madam Pomfrey?" I asked, as I bent down and grabbed the cot, turning it over again.

I clamped a hand over my mouth as nausea rolled over me.

"You found her, Harry? Is she okay?" asked Ron as he appeared at my elbow.

"Bloody hell," was all he could choke out.

Madam Pomfrey was dead. Her throat had been torn out. Blood stained her robe.

Professor Dumbledore had called a special gathering. All the students were sitting in the Great hall, at their house tables, talking excitedly about what Professor Dumbledore wanted to say, and Madam Pomfrey's death.

I leaned close to Ron.

"I wonder who will take care of Hermione now. She seems really sick," I whispered.

"I dunno. Someone with magical medical background I reckon," said Ron.

Professor Dumbledore stood up. Immediately, the Hall quieted down.

"As you all know, Madam Pomfrey will unfortunately no longer be here," said Professor Dumbledore gravely. His voice shook slightly. "It is such a tragedy that we lost our beloved nurse. I have a serious thing to tell you all."

There was dead silence in the Hall now. You could hear the ticking hands on Ron's watch.

"Last week, a student was attacked by something down in the dungeons. Now, it only caught her leg, but she was found in her common room passed out. Please remain calm as Professor Sprout, Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall and I have it under control. What attacked the student was...a werewolf,"

Now, the Hall buzzed. A few of the girls screamed and began sobbing. It looked like someone had told them Lord Voldemort was sitting in this very room. Professor Dumbledore held up his hands.

"Please settle down! We have it under control! There will be a strict curfew. No one is allowed outside their common room after seven o'clock,"

The Hall gradually settled down and the whispers started.

No one knew about that student getting attacked. Then, someone asked the question everyone was wondering.

"What common room?" called Fred Weasley.

Professor Dumbledore was silent before he answered,

"Gryffindor,"

Now, the Gryffindors were silent. We all looked at each other up and down the table. Neville was white as a ghost. George and Fred even looked pale. Lavender Brown was hugging herself and rocking back and forth. Parvati Patil was nervously twisting the ends of her hair around her finger.

Professor Dumbledore's response after Fred's next question, "Who was attacked?" answered Ron and I's about why Hermione was acting weird.

"Hermione Granger,"

Ron had started to slide underneath the table, but I grabbed a hold of the collar of his robe and pulled him back up onto the seat.

"So Hermione was the student attacked! Madam Pomfrey knew something!" I hissed in his ear.

"Yeah, okay, but what? What's really wrong with Hermione?" asked Ron weakly.

"I don't know," I said.

"Professor? My sister hasn't been to class!" called Ron.

Was it me, or did Professor Dumbledore go momentarily white with fear?

"Yes, well she's in the hospital ward, Mr. Weasley. She's sick," said Professor McGonagall.

Ron and I looked at each other sideways.

What was really going on here? Professor McGonagall just lied! Ginny wasn't in the hospital wing...unless...

"Ron! She must be the one behind the coverings across from Hermione's cot!" I whispered to Ron.

Realization dawned on him.

"Blimey! You're right!" cried Ron nodding.

"I say another little trip to the wing invisible will answer our questions," I said, narrowing my eyes behind my glasses.

The next night, Ron and I snuck out of Gryffindor tower underneath the Invisibility Cloak. The corridor was still as silent as it had been the night before when the shape we saw burst from the hospital wing room. We reached the Hospital wing. The door had been fixed and was now open. We tiptoed into the wing, then froze by one of the cots. The room had been fixed as well. We paused by one of the cots closest to the door and saw Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, Professor Sprout and Professor Dumbledore standing by the cot across from Hermione's.

"But Severus, how did she become one in the first place?"

That was Professor McGonagall.

"The same way Miss. Granger did," said Professor Snape curtly.

"I agree, but where did Ginny go in order to get that way?" asked Professor Sprout.

"That is something we must ask her," said Professor Snape.

He pulled back the coverings and there lay Ginny. I felt Ron start to lunge, but I held him back by the arm.

"No! When they leave, then we'll go over to her! Right now we need to find out what's going on here!" I hissed in his ear.

Ron stood in place.

"Miss. Weasley?" asked Professor McGonagall softly.

"Professor Mc-McGonagall? What's going on?" we heard Ginny ask.

"Ginny, we need you to tell us where you went last week...any day," said Professor McGonagall.

"Last week? I think I went to go to Hagrid's hut, when this dog jumped on me and bit me," said Ginny.

Her voice sounded weak and strained.

"Dog? What did it look like?" asked Professor Snape.

"It was big...maybe 6 feet tall. It had jaundice colored eyes and walked on its hind legs,"

"Six feet tall? Are you sure?" asked Professor Sprout.

"Mmm hmm, positive," said Ginny.

The Professors looked at each other.

"Professor Sprout, you have an herb that stops transformation, am I correct?" asked Professor Dumbledore.

"Yes. The Laxen Herb. Why?"

"Professor Snape has a potion to slow it down. Maybe combined with the herb, we might just break the curse," said Professor Dumbledore.

"Let's get to work on it then," said Professor McGonagall.

We stayed in place, not moving.

They checked on Hermione next.

"I'm afraid she's already showing the signs. By the next full moon, she'll change," said Professor Dumbledore quietly. "I suggest getting to work on it right now."

They left the hospital wing. I pulled off the cloak and Ron went over to Ginny. I checked on Hermione. She was still asleep.

I sat on the edge of the bed beside her and gently put a hand over hers. Her eyes opened.

"Hermione! How are you feeling?" I asked, as relief spread over me.

She didn't answer.

"Hermione?" I repeated.

She slowly sat up, as if mechanically. Her shoulder length curly blond/brown hair slightly tousled. Her dark brown eyes.

Hermione's dark brown eyes changed. I saw the pupils stretch vertically and the iris turned into a gold/jaundice color. Hermione smiled, but it was an evil smile. It sent chills down my spine.

"Hermione?" I asked, leaning closer so that our faces were inches apart.

"Hello, Harry," said Hermione.

Her voice sounded seductive. I've never heard her talk like that and it was scaring me out of my wits.

I cleared my throat.

"How are you feeling?" I asked nervously.

"Wonderful...just wonderful," purred Hermione.

She got on her hands and knees on the cot. At that point, I jumped up and stood beside the bed.

Her hair had fallen over her face, shielding it from view. Hermione's hands and feet began changing.

"Ron? I think we should get Professor McGonagall or someone!" I called over my shoulder.

"Why?" said Ron over by Ginny's cot.

"Something's happening to Hermione!"

"And something's happening to Ginny!"

I saw Hermione's hands stretching and white fur growing all over her body. I began slowly backing up. Ron had been backing up at the same time and we bumped into each other in the middle of the hospital wing. I couldn't take my eyes off Hermione and Ron couldn't take his eyes off Ginny.

Hermione's ears stretched into the long, thin and pointed ears with fur on the tips, her nose and mouth pulled forward into a snout. White canines and incisors slid down under purple lips. The bottom jaw held the same canines and incisors. A red tongue lolled out and to the side of her jaw. She stood up on the cot and her legs bent into haunches. Her hands were like paws and so were her feet. Her body was covered in white fur. Her chest expanded and her back lengthened, tearing her robe, which fell off in halves.

She was a werewolf.

The same thing was happening to Ginny, only Ginny was covered in gray fur. When the both of them stood up, they were six feet tall. Ginny pinned back her ears at Hermione and snarled.

They looked like wolves standing on their hind legs.

Hermione snarled back.

Ginny took a few steps toward us. The smell from both of them was almost overwhelming.

Ginny got closer, her jaundice colored eyes were locked on us. She snarled at us again.

Hermione began advancing also. Ron and I sneaked a glance at one another. We were trapped. The two werewolves stepped closer, growling and snarling at us.

Then, I remembered the cloak. I quickly swung it around Ron and I.

Immediately, the two wolves stopped and sniffed the air. They couldn't see us, but they could smell us. We carefully stepped around the wolves and fled from the wing. We didn't stop until we reached Gryffindor common room. I yanked off the cloak and flung it onto a chair.

"Hermione's a werewolf!" I cried.

"So is Ginny!" cried Ron as we began pacing the common room.

"I don't believe it!" I cried. "Madam Pomfrey knew! She knew about Hermione and Ginny. Why keep it a secret?"

"Would you tell the school that there are werewolves on the loose?" asked Ron.

"No. But they're going to kill anyway! That's their nature!" I said. "What happens now? Students are going to die!"

"I don't know. If we tell Professor McGonagall or any of the Professors, they're going to wonder how we knew," said Ron.

"Ron, we have to," I said, seriously.

"Okay," said Ron. "But tell them when? We can't go back out there!"

"We've got to, Ron. Back under the cloak. We've got to tell them we know,"

Shivering, Ron stepped over to me and once again, we threw the cloak over us and exited through the portrait hole.

I gripped my wand in case we met up with...well, I really didn't want to think about it.

The only one we decided that wouldn't give us detention, was Professor Dumbledore.

We headed toward his office.

We knocked on his door. He opened it shortly. His blue eyes were wide behind his half moon spectacles.

"Who's there?"

"It's me, Professor. Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. We need to talk to you!" I said.

His blue eyes twinkled as he held the door open for us. We entered his office and he closed and locked the door behind us. We pulled off the cloak.

"Professor, we really have to tell you something important," I blurted out.

He gestured for us to sit. We sat.

"Go on," said Professor Dumbledore as he sat behind his desk.

"We know about the werewolves," I continued. "Hermione and Ginny are the werewolves."

Professor Dumbledore was silent.

"There are two werewolves? I didn't think the transformation was that fast," said Professor Dumbledore quietly.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Miss. Granger was scratched on her leg. Normally, by the second full moon, the person transforms. Not on the first full moon of the month. During the time from the first full moon, to the second, the person undergoes changes...serious changes. They become aggressive, strong, and act differently then they normally would. Since each person is different, each transformation is different."

"That's why Hermione seemed...well, seductive toward me," I whispered clearing my throat.

Professor Dumbledore nodded.

"Whatever feelings were in her heart come out. She can't control it. But, we asked her not to tell you two because we had hoped to get it under control before anyone found out. Unfortunately, that isn't possible," said Professor Dumbledore quietly.

"We saw Ginny and Hermione change in the hospital wing!" cried Ron.

"They're on the loose?" asked Professor Dumbledore looking up alarmed.

We nodded.

"Oh dear. Anyone wandering around after that curfew has no chance. I want the both of you to go straight back to Gryffindor tower and keep a sharp eye out,"

We nodded and got up from our seats. We threw the cloak over us again as Professor Dumbledore held open the door for us. We left his office and heard the door close behind us.

We began walking back to Gryffindor tower. As we passed an empty classroom, we heard sobs, followed by growls. We stopped and looked in. One of the wolves had Pansy Parkinson pinned against the wall. Her hair had fallen over her face as she had both arms flat against the wall and kept her head low as she sobbed.

"We've got to help her!" I whispered to Ron.

"Sure...let's go right up to the werewolf and say, 'leave her alone. Bad wolf,' That'll result in it tearing our heads off. Bloody brilliant, Harry," said Ron.

"We can stun it," I said.

I pulled out my wand and carefully aimed it at the werewolf. Before I could even say the words, "Stupefy!", the werewolf was upon Pansy and with one swipe of its hand like paw, swiped at her throat. She fell to the side, dead. The werewolf tilted its head up toward the ceiling and howled. It turned around and dropped to all four paws. Its eyes were locked on us. We froze as it began galloping straight toward us.