The Forbidden Forest was always worse at night. Sirius had decided that taking Buckbeak along was their best bet for protection and transportation, so they had stopped to let the hippogriff out of the stall beforehand. Harry had brought along a broom just to be safe.
They went on foot at first, not wanting to be seen over the trees in case any of the Morthahg scouts were close enough to spot them. Sirius seemed to be enjoying himself. He ran through the trees without a sound, Buckbeak jogging along next to him. Not even the snow on the ground slowed him down. The time he’d spent living here as a dog must’ve given him a knack for this, thought Harry as a another branch hit him in the face.
After awhile of trying to keep up, Harry jumped on the broom and went flying after his godfather. He still had to dodge trees and branches, but he was able to catch up. The snow had stopped falling and there was enough moon out to light the branches overhead.
Patches of silver light made it to the forest floor. The wind made the branches sway and the light patterns would change and move. Every now and then, the motion would catch the corner of Harry’s eye and he’d jump, expecting to see something there. It was as bad as the mist had been. Someday, someone really should map out the Forest, he thought, scanning through the trees. But the centaurs would probably never allow it.
Ahead of him, Sirius had stopped and was looking at a tree trunk. As Harry came closer he could see raking claw marks in the bark. Buckbeak sniffed them too, but wasn’t interested. It was a huge, gnarled tree, so wide that it was almost a wall. Sirius traced the claw marks with his fingers, having to spread his hand wide to match it.
“Werewolf?” Harry asked.
“Something very upset,” Sirius walked around the tree. “Look at all these broken branches. Whatever it was was on a rampage.” Harry went to the other side of the trunk as well and saw a path of torn plants and earth through the woods. They followed the trail a short way. Even the rocks had been clawed at. Small plants had been shredded completely. The claw marks showed in the ground on tree trunks. The snow had been trampled and the dirt beneath it gouged up. Surely the Morthahg wouldn’t do this much physical damage, Harry thought. It had to be something else. Buckbeak’s head suddenly perked and he stopped, peering ahead into the trees with more caution.
Sirius and Harry looked at each other. Sirius held up a hand for silence and thet went forward again much more carefully. After a moment, Buckbeak started after them too, which was a relief to Harry. The only thing in the Forest big enough to take on a full grown hippogriff was Aragog, so he felt better with the creature close by.
There was more moonlight up ahead as the trees thinned. Sirius took the lead and crept to the edge of the clearing. Harry paused, waiting for some signal to run or keep going. He saw his godfather lean forward as if to get a better look and then he cursed out loud. The harsh sound made both Harry and Buckbeak jump, but Sirius was already running again, out into the clearing. Harry sent his broom after, but Buckbeak hung back.
In the center of the clearing sat Tanner. The snow around him was torn and red. Puffs of mist came from his panting breath, but he didn’t look up as Sirius came runnng up to him. His hair was matted with blood and sticking to his face. Tanner had been mauled. He lay on his side, most of his ragged clothing torn to shreds and mixed with the bloodied snow. His arms and legs were in pieces, bone and muscle twisted and exposed through the gaping wounds.
Sirius knelt beside him carefully, not wanting to get bitten, even by a non-cursed werewolf in human shape. Tanner didn’t respond to the sound of his name or being rolled onto his back. He was unconscious, which was most likely a good thing considering the damage that he’d suffered.
“Don’t get off the broom,” he said to Harry. His eyes flicked over the Forest around them. “Whatever did this might still be close.” He borrowed Harry’s wand to summon up a blanket and spread it out on the ground. He wrapped Tanner in it and whistled for Buckbeak. The hippogriff came into the open reluctantly and wasn’t at all happy to have the bloody werewolf settled on his back. He dodged away, hoisting a wing to block Sirius.
“Stop that,” he snapped. “This one won’t hurt you. And if you did, it would only take one more bite to finish him off in this condition.” He looked back at what was left of the lanky man, then at Harry. “If he lives, he can tell us what happened,” Sirius said. Harry really didn’t need a reason to be helping the poor creature, but then Buckbeak startled again.
The woods around them was suddenly filled with the gleam of eyes. Rosie stepped into the open, as huge and black and feral as ever. There was no recognition in her green eyes as she snarled at them. Six or seven other wolves followed her out into the moonlight. The were all spattered with blood. Rosie probably was too, her pelt was just too dark for the stains to show on.
“Buckbeak...” Sirius said. “Come HERE...” The hippogriff had spread his wings and was ready to take off. He hesitated, then slowly stepped nearer to Sirius. Harry hovered nearby, anxious to help. Then, Rosie charged.