The Wolf and the Raven

Ch 40 - Lost and Found

Regulus watched Branwen fall as though in slow motion. He knew there was no way to reach her before she crashed into the canopy, still, he yelled out her name and went into a sharp dive. As soon as he reached the treetops, he realised there was no way he could make it through.

He circled until he found a tiny gap with just enough room to land. He started weaving through the trunks calling Branwen's name. But it was dark. With the moon on the wane and the cover of the trees, it was like being in cave. And there was no way of telling how far he had travelled from the spot where she fell. Finding a Branwen in a Forbidden Forest had the same odds as finding a needle in a haystack.

He hung his head in despair. He knew he had only one option. Lifting above the trees once more, he flew back toward Hogwarts.

The Gryffindor fourth-year boys were passed out in their room. Their so-called "party" had involved only a few bottle of butterbeer and some light snogging from Sirius. It was well over by ten o'clock. Still, it relieved the stresses of school that had begun to weigh on the boys, and they easily slipped into a deep sleep. The peace and silence of the room was broken only by Remus' steady snores.

Then came a knock on the window.

"Shut up, Moony," Sirius snorted, then rolled over.

The knocking continued.

James groaned, then fumbled on his night-stand for his glasses and his wand. He shuffled toward the door. "Hello?"

But the knocking persisted.

James stared around, confused and half-asleep.

"Make it stop," Sirius mashed his pillow over his head.

"What's going on?" Remus yawned.

Following the noise, James made his way to the window. He threw back the curtain, then stumbled backward. "Ah!"

At James' cry, Sirius and Remus leaped from bed. Sirius fell flat on his face in his haste while Remus shuffled into his slippers. When they made it to their friend, they were just as startled. Regulus was floating on his broom outside the window.

"Merlin's bloody balls," Sirius cursed, then threw the latch and opened the window. "What the hell are you doing?" he screamed before noticing the look on his brother's face. Regulus was deathly pale and trembling from more than the cold night air.

"It's Branwen. She's lost. In the Forbidden Forest."

James screamed, "What are you talking about, Black?"

"She and I were practising on the pitch, then we decided to race over the Forest. She fell and now I can't find her."

The moon glinted off James' glasses, an accusing spotlight aimed at the boy outside. "Come on, lads."

Remus was already standing over Peter's bed, shaking him awake. James and Sirius grabbed their brooms and rushed to the window, ready to leap.

"Wait! Wait!" Remus ran after them, followed by a stumbling Peter. "You're not going without us."

Sirius frowned. "No offence, Moony, but I think you'll be more of a hindrance than a help when it comes to flying."

"It wasn't a question," Remus' voice was dangerously low.

"Let him come," James was already halfway out the window.

Sirius sighed, but joined his friend in the night sky. James brought his broom parallel with the tower and Remus cautiously swung a leg behind him.

"You coming, Peter?"

"I, I think I'll wait here."

There was no reply. Three brooms carrying four boys were soaring into the starry sky.

Remus almost instantly regretted his decision. He squeezed his eyes shut as hard as he could and wrapped his arms around James' waist so tightly his friend thought he would be sliced in half. Ever since the Cushioning Charm had been invented, straddling the thin rod of wood was much more easier on the groin. But it was the dangling legs and lack of anything to grip (besides James) that terrified Remus. It was only his sheer determination to find Branwen that kept him from passing out and crashing to the ground.

"All right, Regulus," James growled as they slid to a stop over the Forest "where did you last see her?"

Regulus gulped and glanced desperately around. The Forest looked the same all over. How could you tell one tree from another? A tear slipped down his cheek. "I don't know."



James would never admit to it later, but he was terrified. His sister was down there, somewhere in the vast ocean of trees beneath his feet.

He was reminded of the time when his two-year old self thought it would be a wonderful joke to cover his sister in their father's Invisibility Cloak. When he couldn't find her, he cried and cried for his "Bon-Bon." It was that tiny tot that James pictured now. His baby sister, lost and alone. And it was all his fault.

When Branwen got her letter, he had promised his parents that he would look after her at Hogwarts. He thought with guilt about all the trouble she had been in so far, all the detentions and close-shaves. But she had never been in such mortal peril before. Well, except the time she got hit with that Bludger. Or when she followed a full-fledged werewolf through a secret passage. And the last time she went into the Forest looking for those damn moths.

James groaned internally. He was the worst big brother ever.

Little did James know that his best friend was having the same sort of thoughts.

Sirius was circling nearby, his eyes on the forest below, but his mind with his brother.

He had always been worried about Regulus.

He worried when he first saw the tiny bundle his mother brought home from St. Mungo's. At only two years old, Sirius knew the tiny infant was far too fragile to be introduced into this cold world.

He worried when Regulus took his first steps. Grimmauld Place was a literal deathtrap for most adults, but a tottering child was guaranteed injury. He was proved right when he found his brother stuck in the troll-foot umbrella stand near the door.

He worried the day he saw Regulus staring in awe at the severed elf heads lining the walls. They were sickening to Sirius, something to turn away from, not admire.

He worried when Regulus was ten and watched with excitement when their mother blasted their cousin Andromeda from the family tapestry.

He worried when Regulus was eleven and sorted into Slytherin.

Sirius was fifteen now, and he was done worrying about Regulus.

Now it was the young girl lost in the woods that had him sick at heart. Over the last three years she and James had edged out his real family in his heart. She was his kin now and if he let her slip away like he did with Regulus....



The boys continued to call out.
"Bon-Bon!"

"Bran!"

"Branwen!"

"Potter!"

Branwen jerked up from her semi-conscious state. The large wolves were still circled around her. She ran her fingers through the alpha's fur and grinned breathlessly. Regulus must have gone for her brother and friends. There was no mistaking their loud voices ringing above the trees. She drew breath to call out. "I'm here!"

She groaned. The noise that came from her parched throat was barely loud enough to reach a few feet away.

It was enough for ears of the wolves though. The alpha gently pulled from Branwen's grasp and stood before his pack. As one they raised their heads and lifted their voices to the sky. Their howls resounded through the forest like a well-rehearsed choir.

Remus looked up. For the first time since mounting the broom, he opened his eyes. "There," he pointed at a spot that, to James, looked like every other part of the forest. But he turned to look at his friend and when Remus nodded, it was the only confirmation he needed. James waved his arm to alert the brothers, then dove toward the forest, following the cries of the wolves.

James didn't hesitate at the approaching treeline. He continued his perpendicular descent, smashing through branches, knocking into tree trunks. Remus' eyes were squeezed shut again, but he felt twigs grasping at his pyjama shirt and was sure he the wings of a large bird brushed past his cheeks. He heard the other two boys following close behind. Together they made as much noise as a herd of hippogriffs. James didn't slow as they neared a clearing. In fact, when he caught sight of his sister leaning against a tree, he poured on even more steam.

Remus couldn't take any more. He slid sideways off the broom and fell hundreds of feet to land flat on his back (actually only a few inches and he rolled quite nicely). He crawled to the nearest bush and was promptly sick.

When he raised his head to wipe his chin, he saw James squeezing Branwen to his chest. There were no wolves to be seen.

James' shoulders were heaving, sobbing in relief, but Branwen kept wincing and whimpering. "Ow, ow, ow! James, knock it off!"

Sirius and Regulus stood nearby. Regulus caught his brother's eye and raised his brow in an unspoken question. Sirius nodded. His brother silently mounted his broom, rose through the trees and left the forest.

James finally pulled away from his sister. He frowned then grabbed her shoulders, shaking her gently. "What in the name of Merlin's misfit mother are you doing out here!"

"James," Remus placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, "priorities." He indicated Branwen, who was trembling and biting her lip to keep from crying out.

"Right," James removed his glasses before pinching the bridge of his nose. "Anything broken?"

Branwen nodded, tears falling anew. "My leg, and I think my ribs too."

"Well, you're the Healer," Sirius was nervously shifting from foot to foot, "why don't you do something?"

"I was...." she thought of the hypnotic eyes of the wolves, "I mean, I got.....distracted."

She pulled out her wand and pointed it at her fractured leg. "Ferula – ah!" She cried as the bandages set the broken limb. Then she lifted her arm and tried to aim at her ribcage. "I can't get the angle right," she said. "One of you will have to do it."

The boys glanced at one another, then Branwen sighed, wincing once more. "None of you brought your wands?"

"Give me yours," James held his hand out. When the rowan wood was in his hand, he hesitated. "Uh, what's the spell again?"

Remus huffed. "Give it here." He took the wand and pointed it at Branwen's ribs. "Episkey."

"Ooooh," Branwen groaned in relief. It was the most comfortable she had felt all night.

"Why don't you just use that one on your leg?" Sirius asked.

"That's just for small breaks. My leg is definitely broken all the way through. I think my ribs are only a little cracked." Then she turned to Remus. "You're going to have to bind them though. I shouldn't be moving more than necessary." She raised the jumper and her blouse. James and the others grit their teeth at the sight of her purpled torso.

"Ferula."

Branwen heaved another sigh when her ribs had been stabilised. "All right. Now how are we going to get out of here?"

The boys glanced around once more. With Regulus gone, they only had two brooms.

"Do you think you'd be able to get on behind Sirius?"

"I can try."

Before she could even lift herself a few inches though, a crashing erupted from the woods. For a moment, Branwen thought (even hoped) that the wolves had returned, but she remembered their silent approach and knew it must be something, or someone, else.

After a moment, a smaller noise distinguished itself from the louder rumbling. It rushed at them from low on the ground. Something small and furry launched itself onto Branwen's lap and a tiny tongue was all over her face. "Brutus!"

"I should've known," Brutus' giant master emerged from behind them. "What're you four doin' out here? Wait...." Hagrid paused and his eyes scanned the small group. "Are'n there usua'lly five of yeh?"

"Peter can't fly," James answered.

"Huh. Well, yeh still haven't answered me other question. What're yeh doin' out here? 'Specially this time o' night."

"What are you doing out here?" Sirius shot back.

Hagrid frowned at him a moment, then burst out laughing. "Fair question, lad., fair question. I won't tell the professors if yeh won't," he winked.

James smiled. "We're here to rescue Branwen. She fell."

Hagrid nodded. "I was on the trail of a Streeler that, uh....wandered off." Hurrying past this comment, he continued, "Looks like you need a visit to Pomfrey. C'mon." Hagrid bent down and lifted Branwen as easily as if she was a doll. The swift movement sent a wave of pain crashing through her body though, and she passed out.

"Bet'er foller me, boys. Too easy to get lost in here."

It was a much longer journey back to the castle than away from it. Remus used Branwen's wand to light their way. He was, at first, grateful that this trip was on the ground, although he began to doubt this opinion after the fifth time a root appeared from no where and sent him sprawling into the undergrowth.

When they emerged from the cavernous forest, the rising sun was spilling through the sky in wide pink and orange swaths. All four students looked much worse for wear: Branwen with her injuries, the boys with twigs and leaves stuck in their hair, scratches covering their face and arms, and mud splattered along the pants of their pyjamas. Despite the probable punishment that was waiting for them at the school, though, they had never been so happy to see its towering spires silhouetted against the dawn.