The air was strangely clear that night, crisp and empty of both snow and stars. The sky stretched wide above them, pale and endless, as Sirius, James, Severus, and Ren trudged through the frost toward the gamekeeper's hut. Their boots crunched against the frozen earth, puffs of mist rising from their breath. Sirius and James were whispering between themselves, the sound of their laughter low and cruel. They hissed mockingly at Snape, throwing childish insults under their breath, just enough for him to hear.
Ren, walking a few paces behind, couldn't be bothered. She shoved her hands deep into her coat pockets, fingers stiff from the cold, her mind elsewhere. She wasn't sure if it was guilt or irritation that made her so quiet, but she hated being here. The idea of wandering into the Forbidden Forest at night with these three idiots felt like a punishment designed for her alone.
Ahead, the door to Hagrid's hut creaked open, spilling warm light into the darkness. The half-giant stepped out, carrying a lantern so large it could have lit a small field. His beard was thick with frost, his massive boots leaving dents in the ground.
"Evenin', yeh lot!" Hagrid called cheerfully, waving the lantern high.
Ren lifted a hand lazily to wave back, but as she did, something brushed past her. Light and fast, almost like a breeze, except it wasn't. She turned, scanning the dark edge of the trees. Nothing. Just shadows and mist curling at the base of the forest.
"Heard yeh been causin' a bit o' ruckus, eh?" Hagrid boomed, eyeing each of them in turn. His voice carried enough weight to make Sirius shut up for half a second.
Snape grumbled something under his breath, his thin robes no match for the cold. He wrapped them tighter around himself, his pale hands trembling slightly as he hugged his arms to his chest.
Sirius, as usual, broke the silence first. "How deep are we going, Hagrid?" he asked with a grin, glancing sideways at James, who was already smirking. "It's not like we haven't poked around this forest before."
Hagrid gave them a long, unimpressed look before shaking his head. "No troublin' now," he said firmly. "I'll leave yeh there and come back once ye're done."
"Perfect," Snape muttered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. His smirk flickered in the dim light of the lantern.
Hagrid either didn't hear him or chose to ignore it. "We're goin' after Sopophorous Beans," he said, holding up a large hand as though that should explain everything. "Rare magical plant, this one. Looks like a bunch o' pearls—leaves red as dragon's blood." He adjusted his coat and began trudging into the forest, the others following behind.
Before disappearing into the trees, he handed each of them a lantern. "Stick in pairs," he warned, his tone serious now. "You'll want company where we're goin'."
James raised his brows, holding his lantern up like a trophy. "And what are these beans for, exactly?"
"You should ask yer Potions Master," Hagrid replied gruffly, swatting at a low-hanging branch. "Professor Slughorn's always makin' me fetch odd things. Can't do a bit of gatherin' himself."
"Draught of Living Death," Snape murmured under his breath, almost absently, the way one might recite a familiar recipe.
Ren turned to look at him, brows furrowed. "What?" she asked, the word sharper than intended. The mention of death always made her uneasy.
Snape didn't look at her. "Sopophorous Beans," he said, his voice low. "They're used to brew—"
"Never mind," Ren interrupted quickly, regretting she'd even asked. She turned away, pretending to focus on the path ahead.
He grunted quietly, more to himself than to her.
The forest grew thicker as they walked. The air smelled damp and old, heavy with earth and decay. Even Sirius had fallen quiet. The only sounds were the crunch of snow beneath their boots and the occasional snap of a twig somewhere in the dark. Strange shapes moved in the shadows just the trees shifting, Ren told herself, though she couldn't help noticing how every rustle made her hand twitch toward her wand.
James, Sirius, and even Snape were scanning the ground for signs of the red-leafed vines Hagrid had described. Ren, meanwhile, had stopped paying attention to plants entirely. Her fingers were freezing, despite her gloves. She shoved her hands deeper into her pockets and felt something crumpled there.
Her heart skipped. She pulled it out.
A small piece of parchment, folded once, edges slightly damp. The handwriting was familiar — looping, confident strokes that made her stomach tighten.
She held it up to her lantern, the golden light washing over the words.
I'm watching you.
That was all it said.
Her breath caught. For a second, she just stood there, staring at the message. Then, wordlessly, she crushed the parchment in her fist and shoved it back into her pocket. It wasn't the first one. She still had no clue who was putting them there or how.
She forced herself to keep walking, though the back of her neck prickled as if unseen eyes were tracing her every step.
A faint glimmer in the distance caught her attention, something shimmering against the trunk of a large oak. Ren narrowed her eyes, moving closer. A vine curled around the base of the tree, its red leaves glowing faintly under the lantern light. Clusters of white flowers shimmered like tiny stars, and where a few had wilted, she saw the pearly seeds Hagrid had described.
She smiled faintly and crouched down. "Got you," she whispered to herself, plucking a handful of the beans. She wrapped them carefully in her handkerchief and tucked them into her pocket.
The satisfaction lasted all of ten seconds.
Something moved ahead.
Fast.
She froze.
Her lantern flickered as a cold wind passed through the trees. She lifted it higher, eyes darting into the darkness. The shadows were shifting again, too quick, too fluid. She took a step forward, her wand hand tightening.
Before she could make out what it was, a sudden burst of noise erupted from behind her, shouts, crackling light, and chaos.
She spun around.
Not twenty feet away, Hagrid was on the ground wrestling with something or someone. The massive man roared as the creature lunged, its shape indistinct in the flurry of motion. James reacted first, firing a spell that lit up the night in a blinding flash. Sirius shouted something and followed suit, his curses slicing through the darkness. Snape joined them, his expression pale but determined, sending a jet of bluish light toward the thing.
Ren started running toward them, snow spraying under her boots. She barely had time to lift her wand when something grabbed her from behind.
The world spun.
She was yanked backward, her body slamming into the cold ground with enough force to knock the air out of her lungs. Her lantern rolled away, its light flickering wildly across the trees. A shadow loomed over her, tall and indistinct, its movements unnaturally fast.
Then she saw them — the eyes.
Red. Burning. Unblinking.
Everything went black.