Chapter Text
Time seemed to drag along at almost a snails pace within the Forest of Dean. Harry has a feeling it was the magic of the forest that made it feel that way, and he had even mentioned it to Ron and Hermione at one point but they just brushed him off. But Harry can feel it. He can feel the old magic of the forest caressing his own. It is a welcoming feeling, and Harry isn’t sure if he even wants to part from it. It is not like he really wants to go back to the world that he left behind. He no longer wants anything to do with the war or the people that he was supposedly supposed to save.
It hasn’t been long since he discovered what was really going on behind the white curtain of the light side of the war, and, at first, Harry could hardly believe that his friends of almost seven years hadn’t really been his friends at all. At first it was a devastating blow to Harry and he wasn’t sure what to do at all anymore. The light side of the war, and Ron and Hermione’s friendship, were among the only things he knew up until the point he was at, but he had come up with a brilliant idea. Harry knew that his not friends were only waiting for him to destroy the rest of the horcruxes before killing him, but he wasn’t going to let that happen. They hadn’t been paying very much attention to him while in the Forest of Dean and he is pretty sure that he could sneak away from them quite easily.
At this point Harry is just biding his time until he can take off and never be seen again. It would especially be easy to get away from them because they were both betas, like Harry, and their senses were not as sharp as an alpha’s or even an omega’s. But there were a few drawbacks to his plan.
Harry looks over at his friends from the other side of the open clearing that they have set up camp in. They were huddled together talking closely, and they seemed to be trying to play off the whole ‘they were a couple ploy’ as to not make Harry suspicious. If only they knew how easily he can see through their act.
While looking around the surrounding forest, Harry takes in a few deep breaths. He needs to come up with a foolproof plan to get away from here. While they hadn’t really been paying him much attention they would still have the ability to track him if he happens to disappear. The only thing he could think of so far was to take all of the wands and run, but that is a completely impossible feat. Hermione always has her wand in hand, and if she didn’t have an eye on the wands, Ron did.
Harry runs his hands through his hair in frustration.
“This is fucking impossible.” He mutters in defeat. There was no way to get away from his self-imposed prison.
Dejectedly he flops himself down upon the ground and looks around in contemplation. At this point he was kind of hoping that Voldemort would come pick him up to take him away, but trading one side of the war that wanted to kill him for another one didn’t really sound like a good deal though.
A twig snaps somewhere in the distance, and Harry shoots back to attention. It seems as though Ron and Hermione were finished talking and were on their way over to where Harry was sitting. While pulling in a dejected sigh, Harry stands up and walks forward to greet them.
“Guys, you should really try to be more careful about what you step on. We don’t want to draw the attention of any snatchers that might be in the area,” Harry says to them as they get close to him, but to be honest the snatchers would probably be a freaking blessing at this point.
“What are you talking about mate?” Ron snaps back in a questioning tone. “We didn’t make any noise.”
Harry stares at both of them cautiously and looks around. “I heard a twig snap just a second ago. Are you telling me that it wasn’t you?” Fear and anticipation grips him hard in his stomach. Maybe he was getting lucky and the snatchers have found them. It would be the perfect cover to run for it!
“No, Harry, that wasn’t us,” Hermione answers with, what seems like, barely restrained cynicism to Harry, “are you sure you are not hearing things?”
He almost feels himself bristle at her words. “I know what I heard, Hermione. Maybe it’s nothing though. Maybe it is just some animal that got close.” Harry can’t help the barely restrained sarcasm that bleeds through into his words. Hopefully they just read it as frustration with their ‘quest’ and not with them.
Hermione didn’t say anything back; instead, she glances around at their surroundings.
“We’ll split up and check around perimeter to make sure that no one is near. When you feel as if the coast is clear, and you have checked thoroughly, we are to meet back here.” And without another word she and Ron break off from him and leave the clearing.
With apprehension, and barely veiled anticipation, Harry leaves the clearing as well and walks in the direction in which he thinks he had heard the twig snap.
Even in the wet, cold surroundings of the winter forest, Harry feels at peace and at home. Maybe it’s just all forests in general that feel like this to him. Even the forbidden forest, with all its dangerous creatures, seemed to have a homey and welcoming feeling to it. Maybe once he gets away from the wizarding world permanently he will just live out in the woods somewhere. To Harry is doesn’t sound like a half bad idea.
As the trees get progressively thicker, Harry returns his focus back onto the task at hand. There was a chance that this would be the perfect chance for Harry to get away, and he isn’t going to squander it.
Trying to be as quiet as possible, Harry weaves his way through a denser area of trees and thick undergrowth. Something was out here in the woods with him, and he isn’t sure if it was friend or foe, but it was not like it mattered though, for he has been in the presence of foes for a while and he wasn’t dead yet.
‘Yet being the key word’ He thinks sarcastically as he continues to trek further and further away from the clearing where they were camped.
He makes it a few more minutes out into the forest before he realizes that the forest is completely silent. Not one creature or sound breaks the deafening silence. Something dangerous is out there with him. Only an exemplary predator could have caused such an unending silence.
Slowing his pace to almost a dead stop, Harry tries to survey his surroundings to the best of his ability. Something about the forest had changed. Like the energy has been supercharged by a being of extreme power. The additional energy of the forest causes tingles to race along Harry’s skin, and he wasn’t exactly sure if he liked it or not.
A soft rustle of leaves on the ground within feet of him causes Harry to freeze and tense. His fight or flight senses were rapidly raging inside of his mind, and he knows he doesn’t have very long to decide. Without much though on his part he takes off running away from the noise and even farther away from the camp.
What ever it had been that was near Harry swiftly made chase after him. Harry’s heartbeat was running completely erratic within his chest and a sense of fear and adrenaline took a firm hold on his mind and body. For some reason, deep inside of him, an archaic part enhanced and fed off the sensation of the chase. For some reason an isolated and buried part of him was enjoying this odd chase, and it scares to absolute shit out of Harry. He has only read about this feeling in old tomes that described the ancient rituals in which an alpha would chase an omega to catch and breed them. Harry has no earthly clue why on earth he is feeling this sensation. He is a beta, not an alpha or an omega. He is one of the in-betweens. He is part of the dynamic that is completely insignificant in relation to the others. Beta senses were diluted, but at this moment in time it felt like his senses had superseded anything he has ever experienced. For some ungodly reason this chase made him feel alive. The feeling of the branches smacking and cutting his arms and the feeling of the sturdy ground underneath him, make him feel wild with life. The forest around him and the creature chasing him were the only things that seemed to hold a purpose in his mind.
It was terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time.
His only problem at the moment is that whatever is chasing him is catching up, and it was catching up fast.
Before Harry even has the chance to cut off in a completely different direction, in the hopes of throwing off his pursuer, the creature following him tackles him to the ground harshly.
Even though he has been thrown to the ground and pinned, Harry does not stop trying to get away. He knows now that it is a human form from the huge hands that were holding his arms to the ground. The grip is vice like, and even though Harry knows that there is no getting out of this grip, he still tries to fight it and break free.
Whoever is holding him just hovers over him until Harry wears himself out from fighting. After about five minutes Harry finally gives up and slumps boneless to the ground. He is now ready to face the reality that he was captured and there was nothing he can do.
On the bright side it seemed like whoever it is doesn’t want to kill him because Harry definitely knows that if they wanted to they could have already done so.
The figure above him huffs and then seems to bend down closer to Harry, and he can swear that he hears the figure on top of him sniffing the back of his neck, and then, without warning, Harry is unceremoniously flipped onto his back to where he is facing his capture.
“So what is a small little wizard doing out in the middle of the woods all on his lonesome.” The figure above him grumbles with an intimidating scowl on his face, and if Harry were to be truthful he would definitely admit that it was a very handsome face. He is kind of dumb stuck to be honest. The man above him dwarfed Harry in body size most definitely, but the feature that was the most stunning were the mans deep gunmetal blue eyes and silver streaked deep black hair that fell around his sharply featured face.
Harry’s mouth runs dry at that moment and he doesn’t know how to answer the man’s question. There was the chance that this person wouldn’t take very kindly to the fact that they were in fact holding down the Harry Potter.
Thinking much more quickly than he probably should have, Harry shouts out the first truthful thing that comes to mind.
“I was running from the war.” He blurts out. Well it wasn’t the worst thing he could have said in this situation. But what surprises Harry the most is that the man above him looked pensive about his hastily thought out explanation.
“From the Light side of the war or the Dark side?” the man above Harry asks while looking around at their surroundings. He seemed poised for any threat that could possibly show up.
“I’m running from the Light side of the war,” Harry explains slowly, “I want nothing more to do with their manipulations and bullshit!” The fire in his voice seems to take his captor by surprise, and Harry isn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.
The dark-eyed man seems to contemplate Harry for a bit before standing up and yanking Harry up with him.
Harry jerks, startled at the sudden movement until a strong hand comes down to grip his shoulder. From this holding point the mysterious man leads him off further into the woods and even further way from the camp.
“If you are running away from the Light side of the war than I am just going to bring you with me back to my pack. We need new members and I feel like you would fit perfectly.
Harry doesn’t even know what to say to that. A pack? He was found by a werewolf. Of all of the things that could happen to him, but he doesn’t even bother complaining. Even being kidnapped by a werewolf of all things is better than staying in the middle of the forest with two so-called friends that were planning his death. Yeah, Harry thinks while he is lead further and further away from what he thought he knew, maybe this wont be so bad after all.