"Need a rest, Potter?" called Malfoy.
"Shove it, Malfoy!"
"Longbottom there looks like he needs it!" "Shut up!"
The four horses matched each other, burst into a clearing, and were immediately joined by one more.
"Thought I'd lost you lot!" shouted Zacharias Smith from the other edge of the clearing, the weak sunlight reflecting off his bits of steel armour.
"Why are you going that way?" shouted Malfoy.
"No reason!"
"Bullshit! Theo!"
"Animagus Revelio!" A bright light glowed from the Nott heir's wand tip. "There's one in his direction!" John cursed again. "Neville! C'mon!"
The four horses bolted in Zach's direction who wielded his horse around and took off at a fast canter, feet kicking furiously.
Up in the sky, the sun fell another few degrees.
Harry's wand tip glowed, information flooded his brain with a whole lot of nothing. He growled, jumped his horse over a brook and tried again. Again, nothing.
He slowly brought his horse to a stop and took stock. The path branched off in four directions, two led back the way he'd come, one made its way up a steep hill. Harry firmed his jaw and urged his horse along the last path, the one that took him towards the thicker growth of trees and bushes.
He raised his wand again. Again, it glowed. His eyes snapped wider. There! He had one! Heart racing, he followed the path indicated by his magic. It was still only a one-in-six chance, but fate was on his side, after all.
"There! I have one!" Hermione frantically pointed to their right.
Daphne reined in their horse and pointed her in the direction she'd indicated.
"About time!"
Hermione flung her arms around Daphne as they sped up again. "Animagus Revelio!" Her wand flashed again. "Straight on!"
They thundered on through the forest. "Animagus Revelio!" Another flash. "Go right!"
Daphne craned her neck. "We can't go right!" "We need to!"
"You want us to jump that?!" Daphne gestured at a large creek to their right. "Can't we?" "No!"
"But then, what do we—?" "Look! It's narrower up there!"
Hermione whipped her head around. "Fine!" One awkward creek crossing later and the trees were once more flashing past them in a blur.
"Animagus Revelio!"
Light flash.
"Left!"
Daphne steered left.
"Animagus Revelio!"
Light flash.
"Straight on!"
Daphne steered straight on.
"Animagus Revelio!"
Light flash. "WHAT?!"
Daphne winced. "What?!"
"Back the way we came!"
Daphne looked around, startled. "But that must mean we passed them!"
"Yes!"
They turned around.
"Animagus Revelio!"
Light flash.
Hermione said a bad word. "Stop! Stop! It's back that way again!"
Daphne reined in their horse and took a long, deep breath. "Maybe now would be a good time to stop shouting like madmen."
Hermione flushed. "You're probably right."
A flash of light gray passed her vision up the trees. "There." She whipped her wand upwards and fired the special stunner. It didn't even get half the distance between them and the shape before fading. The shape climbed even higher into the trees.
Daphne's voice dropped to "Pandora. It's Lady Lovegood."
a
whisper.
Hermione nodded. "On foot from here?"
"For the moment, yes."
Five sets of hooves pounded through another clearing. John cursed, again. Their prey was as illusive as the wind. He could swear he was catching glimpses of a large dark shape disappearing behind trees and bushes, but whenever he passed them, their quarry wasn't there.
Malfoy was shouting at the top of his lungs. Neville looked ready to pass out, but his family ally had refused to give up. Nott and Smith had settled down into the quiet focus of hunters on the chase.
They thundered through another unfortunate set of bushes and into yet another clearing. John's stomach lurched and all five forcibly reined in their horses, causing them to slip and skid over the frosty ground.
On the other side of the clearing stood a huge black dog — A grim —Uncle Sirius, hackles raised, head low to the ground, and growling a deep, guttural warning of imminent death to all foolish enough to approach. He'd never met him during any of the hunts in the last timeline. It was a very different sight to the lovable dog he'd played with as a toddler.
Malfoy gave a nervous chuckle. "Dog food anyone?"
John shot Malfoy an incredulous look. If that was the blonde's witty quip he must be even more nervous than he looked.
Sirius let out a bone chilling bark that promised a bone crunching future, turned, and leapt into the forest.
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