The Cursed Wolf

Disclaimer: Neither the characters nor the setting belong to me. No money is being made from this fanfiction.


For two nights Hermione cried herself to sleep. For three days she stays indoors reading her books. Looking for spells to stun, knock out and slow down in case she needed it. The third night she hears a dog howling and she felt someone watching her, like the first night she was there.

She goes to bed and dreams. Waking up she find herself sleep walking outside in the garden walking towards the gate. Something is drawing her there. Some force was pulling at her
She sees Harry on the other side smiling at her. She starts for the gate thankful to see him but he disappears right in front of her eyes.

Hermione opens her eyes to see that she is outside at the gate.
She feels a pair of eyes on her, different eyes and she runs back into the house. She sits on her bed wondering what is happening to her. She realizing she cares for Harry and misses him, but how much, enough to go off with him?

The next day Hermione’s mum unexpectedly got a note from her sister inviting them to a party a last minute family reunion to show off their new backyard. She lived about twenty miles away on the other side of the foothills.

Hermione wore a short cream-colored skirt, a pink button down camisole with a sheer blouse over it that tied at the collarbone with cream-colored sandals.

She went in to the garden to get some roses to give to her aunt and noticed that the lilacs were in bloom finally. She inhale their scent and thought of Harry. Five more days she thought to .. to what .. say good bye? Tears came to her eyes. Wiping them away and tied the roses together. On her mums call they all got into a carriage and drove off. Hermione dosed off on the ride. She once again dreamt of Harry chasing her through the woods when a sudden stop woke her. They had arrived.

The party hadn’t begun yet; her aunt was still setting up tables. Hermione was recruited for hanging the decorations. Putting the flowers in a vase on the table she helped put out the deserts and make the punch.

Soon the party started as family and guests arrived. The hours slowly passed and all Hermione could think about was Harry.
Someone put on the radio the party got livelier. A few people started to dance on the backyard patio that was barely dry with the last coat of paint.

Hermione’s dad danced with her mum and then with Hermione. A few boys asked Hermione to dance. She said yes to two of them, but turned down most saying she was tired. She made herself a big plate of all her favorite foods and sat and ate, talking to her aunts’ uncles and cousins.

Afternoon turned to evening and the stars started to come out.
Hermione looked at them wondering if Harry was at her house waiting for her.
She should have left him a note on the gate saying she wasn’t sure what to do and that she may need more time, it was such an important decision after all she thought to herself.

She wasn’t sure if she wanted things to change so quickly.
She felt like she was stuck in a childhood … not wanting to be a child but not wanting to grow up so fast that she would be on her own. Soon the food was eaten and the drinks were poured with cheers and toasts. Most of the adults were tipsy but everyone seemed to be having a good time. Hermione wandered in and out of the house looking for a place to sit and not be disturbed.

One of her uncles started to sing and the family joined in.
She gave up looking for a quiet place seeing her cousins had occupied the secluded places with their dates.

Hermione walked back in to the kitchen and got a drink of wine. Walking out on to the patio where her family was dancing, she felt dazed by the dim lights, the wine and the loud noise. Some one brushed up against her and whispered do you want to dance in her ear. Before she had a chance to turn around she was waltzing and looking into his green eyes.

Harry had on a dark green shirt and jeans. He seemed taller and more handsome, a little unsure about his dance steps but he kept on trying. Harry looked at Hermione with the same wondrous expression he had on his face the first day she talked to him in the square. She couldn’t believe he was there. They both laughed from time to time stepping on each other feet or bumping into other dancers most of whom were drunk. As soon as the dance was over Harry escorted Hermione off the dancing space.

They bumped into Hermione’s father who didn’t look too happy to see Hermione dancing with Harry or the fact that Harry was at the party. Hermione’s father asked Harry to leave at once.

Hermione felt miserable, but he wasn’t invited and her father didn’t like Harry much.

“ Alright dad I’ll walk him to the door.” Hermione reply angrily.

“Walk me to the back I came threw the woods.” Harry said.
They walk to the back of the yard.

“Sorry about dad.. he doesn’t like you much.” Hermione commented.

“He seemed to approve of anyone else but me.” Harry said disappointedly.

Harry looked at the party around them and back at Hermione, jumping over the small fence.

“ I’ll see you later?” Hermione asked.

“ Sure” he replied as he took a step towards the woods.

“Harry wait.” She called reaching out for him, She wanted to hug him goodbye.

“Yes?”

“ I just wanted to say good night… and thank you for the dance.”

By the time Harry’s arms wrapped themselves around her something happen.. she couldn’t think.. all she wanted was to kiss Harry. They embraced the fence in between them.

“ Wait.” she broke the hug and jumped over the fence.
Wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. The kiss grew longer and firmer.. Slowly she opened her mouth to his. Wanting to feel the passion he held for her, wanting to feel his wants and needs for just a moment in the kiss. She felt him guiding her over to the edge of the woods as they kissed. Harry broke the kiss and with both hands pulled Hermione behind a tree.

“ You don’t want your father to catch us do you?” Harry said with a smile on his face.

His lips were on hers again, his tongue going where it pleased. Hermione felt as though her head was spinning in the clouds. She felt Harry’s hand on her cheek and under her chin as he left her lips and engulf her chin in kisses, gentle bites going down her neck. She closed her eyes enjoying the sensation of his teeth biting her neck and lips kissing. Even hearing him breath was… sexy. Harry kissed her mouth and broke the kiss with a soft sigh.

“ Amazing …kissing you. I knew it going to be amazing.”
He inhaled a bit and took her hand gently in his, “ Let’s walk for a bit.”

Hermione looked at her aunt’s house the party was still going strong.

“ I should get back.”

“In a bit” Harry smiled.
He pulled her by the hand, and then let go “Come on.”
With that Harry disappeared. Hermione stop in her tracks.. She listened very carefully and noticed a huge rock. She snuck up on it and tapped Harry on the back,

“Got you” and she ran up a mount and behind a tree. Harry tapped her on the shoulder as he ran past her and didn’t stop climbing up the hill. They ran playing tag for a while laughing running after each other. Suddenly Hermione couldn’t find Harry. She looked around tree boulders bushes, everywhere. Then she noticed how quiet everything was. She couldn’t hear the noise from the party or see the lights. She listened with all her might.
She didn’t know these woods or were she was in them. How many hills did they climb and in what direction? Hermione started to run in one direction then she would hear something and go in another.
She was walking down a hillside when something knocked her to the ground. It was Harry. He jumped on top of her and playfully wrestled her. Harry kissed Hermione passionately, his body against hers. It felt wonderful. It felt right. But Hermione was annoyed,

“Where the hell were you? I thought I lost you.”
The smile faded from his lips. He kissed her gently and he rolled her down the hill. Making Hermione head spin and making her feel sick. Hermione got madder,

"What did you do that for?!" She demanded, "Now I’m all dizzy and I’ve no idea where the house is.” She complained, getting up off the ground and dusting herself off. “You can’t go back to your aunts house it not safe there.” Harry said still laying on the ground

“What do you mean it’s not safe?” Hermione said.

“It’s not safe for you to go there now”.
“Why? What’s happening? Which way is the house?”

“Well they’re not safe if you’re there.” Harry said with a warning tone in his voice.
“If I’m there?” she asked him “Why?”

“Do you want to know about the curse?” Harry asked.
Hermione nodded “ Yes.”

“Years and years ago some of my family used to commit ala kachuu,” he said.
“ What’s that?” Hermione asked.

“ Roughly translates to ‘grab and run’. Usually a poor young man would do it if he couldn’t afford to give a cow to the future bride’s family. He would grab her when she was outside and if she was wanting to they would go off and elope. Sometimes his friends would help him grab the girl. One day one of the girls didn’t want to elope she refused to go with the boy and she ran away from him and the villagers protected her. He became furious and demanded the girl be handed over to him. When they didn’t the boy cursed the village.”

‘No man shall grab and run for his bride but she will run and hide from the beast in you. You’re the animals.. you’re the wolves in sheep’s clothing. You will rip her apart as you ripped her from me.’

That’s where the curse came from . Men are the cursed ones.
That’s the reason you have to run, to give us time to remember what we are and not to rip you to apart …but no one has as far as I know. That’s why we have to do it in the woods to cut down chance that we’ll run in to someone else.”

“ Why didn’t you pick someone from your village who knows this already?”

“I didn’t find anyone I wanted to be with …after I met you. You must know I love. And this, this curse .. the running is only for tonight. You only have to do this once and then we can be together forever.

“ Tonight? You said I had ten days … it’s only been five. I have five days left to make my decision.”

“ You’ve alright made it. If you hadn’t we wouldn’t be here now.” Harry replied.

“ And how do you know that?”
He stepped next to her and leaned over and inhaled slowly from her hair on her neck down to her knees his hand trailing down her back hips and legs.

“Something in me says you’ve made up your mind but your body says something else. But you still have to run and run as fast as you can to get away from me .. and not look back. You may not see me but I’ll be there. You haven’t got your wand with you, have you?” he asked her feeling her cloths for it.

“No.” she answered, “ Wait a minute how did you know I was over my aunts house and where the house is, I didn’t even know we were going there until this morning?”

“ I was wondering if you were going to ask me that. You were to stay there this summer. I got your grandmother to ask you to stay over her house instead until you were ready. Then I got your aunt to invite you over for a visit.. I thought a party with your family would be nice so you could see them … incase I do catch you tonight. You ate and drank at the party and even danced.” Harry explained.

“ You did this? Manipulated people. Tricked me into …”

“ I told you not to trust me five nights ago. I did what I had to do to get you here. You can’t be that upset I just changed your plans around a little that’s all. I didn’t maim or kill anyone ” he admitted.

“Why did you want me here?” she asked.

“Come on” and he held out his hand to her.
She took it and they walked for a bit. Harry picked up a few sticks here and there. They stopped at a clearing and Harry threw down all but one stick. He rubbed it smooth on a rock and gave it to Hermione.

“Try to conjure a fire with that, “ Harry ordered.
She did in just a wave of the wand.

“Good. Now do you remember the spell we practiced?”

“Yes.” Hermione said.

“ Try the Stupefy spell on me. ”

“ What? ”

“Do it now.”

So she did, pointing her wand at him “Stupefy,” she said hesitantly and a red bolt hit Harry knocking him off his feet and he landed on the ground.

“Harry!” Hermione screamed dropped her wand and ran over to him . He moaned a moment shaking his head and opened his eyes.

“ You have to concentrate harder. You have to really try as if your life depends on it.”

He got up off the ground, picked up her wand and handed it to her.

“Here try to stun me again in thirty seconds and then…”
He pulled her into an embrace and gave her a kiss that made her toes curl and took her breath away. The kiss ended and Harry forehead was touching Hermione’s. Her eyes were still closed and the sensation of the kiss lingered when she hear him whisper,

“Run.”

She was stunned “What?”

“Do it …Now!” Harry yelled.

“Stupefy.” Hermione said with a bit more verve. Again a red bolt hit Harry and sent him off his feet and onto the ground he laid there unconscious.
Hermione stood there for a moment just as stunned, and then she turned and started to run. She ran down the hill and up another, trying to see the tree line close her aunt’s house but she couldn’t see any. As she ran she heard Harry in a far distances echoing,

“Don’t go home Hermione don’t go home.”
Hermione looked at her watch.. it was nearly 11:00 o’clock. She had only been running five maybe ten minutes at best. That spell should have lasted another twenty minutes. Hermione ran even faster or as fast as she could with sandals on her feet.

‘Don’t go home’ Hermione thought. ‘ I don’t even know where my aunt’s house is and I’m miles away from my grandmothers’.

It seemed to get darker the more she ran. Her eye adjusted to the dark as she slowed down to listen to see if she could hear any thing. She heard the wind in the trees as she stopped to breath. She was surprised she wasn’t winded. It must be the adrenaline. She heard her heart pounding in her head.

Which way to go? She heard something behind her and started to run again through the trees and up a hill until she came to level ground and looked out. To her dismay nothing looked familiar. There were no lights or house as far as she could see. Hermione look at her watch 12:45. She wondered if any one missed her at the party? Her parents were a bit tipsy and my have just stayed the night like most times but would anyone notice her gone. She looked to the skies. Which way was north or south.. well it didn’t matter, she didn’t know where she was or where her grandmother’s house was either. All she saw was hills upon hills and the moon to give her some light. She looked down the hill and wondered if she should stay there until morning? Listening and hearing nothing, she sat down on a tree stump shaped like a chair.
All this seems too unbelievable to be happening. She’s lost in the woods running away from a boy who is turned into a wolf that is maybe hunting her down right now as a meal or in a few hours as a mate. Hermione was beginning to believe she has lost her mind.
It was then she saw something below her moving a few yards on a cliff but wasn’t making any noise. It was huge, about the size of a very large dog or wolf she thought. She let out a short breath and it looked up at her. Jumping up she started to run though the woods where it was still level ground and came upon a field. She felt something at her calf and then on her ankle.

Suddenly she found herself on the ground. Hermione rolled on to her back and holding out her wand she shouts “Stupefy” at a crouching animal. For a spit second she sees Harry’s ghostly face as the bolt hit him, the next second the wolf is laying on the ground in the dark. She walked closer to the beast softly saying “Lumos.”
The end of the wand begins to glow and she tries to see what the wolf looks like.

Black with some gray and tan markings on his legs and belly but mostly black. Hard to see him in the dark that’s why she didn’t see him until he moved some bushes.

Hermione was running through the woods again in a matter of minutes with the wolf unconscious behind her getting farther and farther away. She ran for hours. Seeing the pink in the sky she knew dawn was approaching. The night was almost over and all she had to do is find her way back to her grandmother’s house.
But then what? Would she ever see Harry again? Would he even want to talk to her again choosing a muggle life, normal life?
Were there any other places where people like her go to talk to other witches and learn more about their powers and spells? Harry would know. Harry could show her. Harry offered … but at a price she wasn’t sure she wanted to pay. She was running off the field and through the woods again. She had to rest so she sat near a clearing and charmed a space where nothing could harm her and she sat in the middle taking a break. It wasn’t long when she looked up and saw the wolf sitting there on the edge of the clearing just outside the area of protection.

“Why hadn’t you turned back to human form? Why are you still a wolf?” she wondered out loud.
She walked over to him. He was digging up something. She watch him for a while just digging a hole. She nodded off for fifteen twenty minutes. She woke and noticed the wolf was gone.

Suddenly the ground in front of her look like it was giving way and something started to come up out of the ground and grow like a pyramid. She looked closer as it slowly grew out of the ground. She heard a weird hiss from it and the next second it changed to a teardrop shape cover in soil. It moved violently for moment. The next moment the rest of it emerged from the ground and shook dirt off of it. Hermione couldn’t believe her eyes as the creature turn and looked at her.

“ Oh my God,” she said out loud trying to get up as fast as could, “That’s impossible.”

The huge wolf was staring at her with victory in his eyes walking toward her out of the hole. He let out a weird growl.

Hermione pulled out her wand and shouted, “Stupefy” stopping the wolf in his tracks, Stepping out of the protected area, breaking the spell she started to run again up a hill, tripping to fall over some bushes. She brushed herself off and heard something coming down the hill. Looking up and saw the wolf. She stood there holding the wand in her hand again and when the wolf was close enough she cast the spell again “Stupefy.”

This time it only slowed the wolf down. Hermione turned and ran as fast as she could, thinking he’s shaking it off, he’s stronger then I am. She came to a small river a few yards across. Hermione started to cross it, looking back and saw the wolf a few feet behind her. She tried to dash across the river but it was deeper then she thought and the current was stronger than she imagined. She fell over and was swiped away by the water. Unfortunately the water had a few short waterfalls and Hermione went over them. Being dragging down by the water she hit the bottom of the river and had a hard time getting to the surface to breath. She was tossed around hitting sharp rocks and coarse sand. The lasted thing she saw was water and her air bubbles going to the surface. All she could think of was she was never going to see her parents or Harry again when she began to drown.

Hermione stomach heaved as her eyes opened and she grabbed at what her hand was on, sand, her knees come up to her chest as she gasped for air. Water pour out of her mouth and nose, her stomach hurt and she found it hard to breath, her vision blurry. Hermione looked around and saw she was on the bank of the river. The black wolf drenched, getting blurred as it was walking towards her. Closing her eyes as passed out.