Edited*

I'm deep in the woods racing for my life. Running. Faster. Faster. My lungs are begging for air I do not have. I can't do this much longer. My legs are about to give out. I have to keep going.  The laughs and howls of my pursuers taunt my ears and panic blossoms in my chest. They're catching up.

I clutch my thin wand in my hand, pressing the wood into my palm. I just have to make it to the school. I just have to make it and I'll be safe. A taunt reaches my ears and its louder, closer, than before.

"Stop Sweetheart, you can't last much longer. We're right behind you!" I cry out and twist around screaming,

"EXPELIAROUS!" The man dodges my spell laughing still. I can't get away. It's just my luck to miss my footing on the next step, tripping over thick tree roots. I go down hard, knocking the wind out of my chest. I lay there struggling to breathe when something twists in my hair, yanking me to my feet.

The pain in my scalp makes me want to scream but I hold my tongue. I won't give that satisfaction to my captor. He is a tall man with broad shoulders, greasy brown hair, and overly bright blue eyes. He pins me again his chest as I struggle to free myself.

"Take her wand." He growls and his friend does so. Yanking my head back he places a sharp, crude knife at my neck. My breath comes in uneven, terrified gasps but still I do not whimper. Another man comes into view. He seems older than the rest but just as excited for the hunt. I recognize him from the stories. He's a werewolf call Greyback. A shiver snakes my spine, he's known for torture.

"Well, what do we have 'ere boys? It's a Potter." he spits making me clench my jaw. Stepping closer he takes the knife from the man's hand and draws the flat edge down my cheek. "Ello Sweet'eart." he purrs his dark eyes glittering. I kick out with my legs, hitting him hard in the stomach. His breath leaves him as he's thrust back. His hand slips on the knife causing it to cut a jagged mark into my cheek. I flinch.

"Accio wand!" I call out desperately. Nothing. Greyback is furious now and coming closer. "ACCIO WAND!" My voice cracks. Still nothing. There is excitement in his eyes as he speaks,

"Tie 'er to the tree." I claw, kick, and squirm but the man holding me is to powerful and in no time I am secured tightly to the plant. I jut out my chin daring Greyback. My face portrays a confidence I don not have. His two friends look on without a word as he steps close. To close. I'm pressing myself to the tree trying to get away from him and his putrid breath. He has my wand in his hand and ever so gently he tilts my face up, using its point.

"Such a pretty thing..." He whispers and now I whimper. "I'm going to enjoy this." he's smiling. I moisten my lips nervously and try to stop shaking. I won't let him win. Greyback leans forwards, so close that his lips are touching my ear. The wand is pressed tightly at my throat.

"Crucio." He purrs just as I yell, "STUPIFY!" In a blast he's knocked away unconscious and a blinding pain courses momentarily through my body. I'm on fire, drowning, freezing, hitting a brick wall all at once. My head pounds, my vision go black, my body limp. It's just enough to make me scream. Then just like that, the pain is gone leaving me shaky all over. I'm covered in a sheen of cold sweat. My wand lays lifelessly at my feet, having been touching my skin long enough for me to blast Greyback. I shudder to think what would have happened if he hadn't made that mistake.

His two friends advance on me, stepping over his unconscious form, but I'm to weak to do anything other than slump against the tree. They've almost reached me when someone cries,

"Stupify!" The first goes down heavily before me, a loud snap sounding as he breaks his nose. The other one is distracted too ,so I'm free to slip into peaceful oblivion. I give way willingly into unconsciousness. The darkness washes over me and my mind goes blank. Yes, a Potter, Greyback. A potter....

6 Years Before...