Book Four: Bad Moon Rising

The Number of the Beast (Part Two)

Hermione Granger,

in the midst of understanding.

There was something wrong with Harry Potter, and for the first time, she was finally understanding what it was.

Hermione dashed away as soon as Cath Palug pounced at them. To her, the world blurred around her as she moved faster than she ever thought possible for her. She made it thirty feet in what felt like only four steps before ducking behind a tree just in time to watch Harry meet the great Beast in mid-air before using one of its front paws to launch himself over the burning skull of Cath Palug while lashing out with his spear. She watches, almost in slow motion as her mind processes every detail, from the path of the spear to the scent of foul blood, hot and curdling, in the air as Harry slices through the shoulder blade of the great cat. The limb fell to the ground as the Beast crashed to the ground as well with Harry leaping off of it with a laugh.

Even in the dark woods in the middle of the night, she could see the world in such wonderful detail, from the shifting snow as Cath Palug lands to the falling tree leaves that stubbornly hung on to the trees deep into the cold winter months. She could hear the massive heartbeat of the monster and the shifting and scattering of the small game trying to escape the area to not get caught in the battle. Her hands were shaking, but not from the cold or fear, but from excitement and anticipation, Hermione redoubled her grip on the bow in her hand before her free one reached back to gasp an arrow from her quiver.

It felt like a natural movement to Hermione, like one she had done all her life even though she knew she had never even held a bow before tonight, let alone load and release one. Her eyes glance at the fetching of the arrow to see that it's bubblegum pink, the same shade of pink that Tonks had her hair in seventy percent of the time Hermione had seen the Metamorphmagus. She immediately knows what the arrow will do, she applied a bit of color theory when creating the arrows on the ride over so she could identify them at a glance. Hermione loads and draws back the arrow with little trouble, inwardly marveling how easy it was for her with no training.

Cath Palug roars at the pain of its lost limb before turning on the one that was responsible for it before charging at Harry. Harry uses the terrain to his advantage as he dodges and weaves in between trees, laughing all the while as the overgrown cat tries to claw at him but only gets wedged in between two thick trees. Cath Palug's wound bubbles and boils with flesh before in a burst of gore, it regenerates its lost front leg before it tears through one of the trees that held it and comes crashing down on top of Harry.

"Harry! Get back!" Hermione yells and doesn't have to wait to see Harry leap away from the large cat even though he is preparing his assault against the Beast. With the Hunt purring in the back of her mind, she let the arrow fly right where the great cat landed. As soon as the arrow landed, there was a flash of magic as the earth opened up and swallowed the back half of Cath Palug, the cat-like monster stopping itself from falling completely into the pit by its front paws. But Hermione feels the Hunt purs in her mind as her trap is laid and sprung all within the span of a heartbeat. The earth snaps shut, crushing the lower half of Cath Palug with a sickening crunch, and Hermione feels delight rush through her as she takes the first life of the Beast, and couldn't help but feel herself smiling.

"Was this how Harry felt? This raw excitement and hunger? I can feel the Hunt pushing on my mind, pushing to do more, to hunt more, to feed and feed it unendingly. How horrible,"

It was her thoughts in juxtaposition with her actions as she turned and ran, looking for a better vantage point all with the smile never leaving her face.