Nocturnal Suprise

[GryffindorAnimagus]

This is a story that I wrote for my writing class. I hope you all enjoy it.

She was sitting in the corner of the smallest room at number twelve Tolhurst Drive in Ascot. The room was tiny with no personal touches; it was painted a pale sickly green that clashed with the rest of the house. The room smelled like the woods that surrounded the house. There was a mattress on the floor with a beat up quilt lying across it and a wardrobe along the wall closest to the door.

In the corner by the tiny window that had a wonderful view of the woods sat Leda, she was small for her age, with bright red hair down to her waist and piercing green eyes. Leda was living in this house because her parents were murdered when she was just two years old but she did not know how or why.

Leda jumped up and ran toward the door; her Uncle Gordon just arrived home. Gordon was tall and thin, with black hair and he smelled of cigar smoke and alcohol no matter what time it was. He did not like Leda, so she went out the backdoor as he came in the front. This had become a ritual of sorts, Leda would leave the second Uncle Gordon arrived home and would stay gone, usually walking around the woods until dinner time. Leda could hear her father’s sister, her Aunt Larissa welcoming Gordon home and she moved quicker into the woods. No matter how long she was gone she was sure to hear the same thing when she got back for dinner. Uncle Gordon would ramble on about how she had ruined everything and that he was forced to take her on as a ward because nobody else wanted her after her parents died. Uncle Gordon and Aunt Larissa did not have children of their own. It was clear to Leda that her uncle hated children and that her aunt would do whatever she could to keep him happy.

Tonight was no different than any other night except that tomorrow is Leda’s sixteenth birthday. This was a fact that she and her aunt had spoke about earlier that day but neither would dare bring it up in front of her uncle. Leda walked for a few hours around the woods and imagined how it would be to get away from the home that she hated so much. The only good thing that she liked about living with her Aunt and Uncle were the hours that her Uncle was at work. Those were the hours when her Aunt would loosen up a little bit, a very little bit. She would not yell at Leda during these hours and would allow Leda to ask a few questions about anything but Leda’s parents. When Leda got home it was just like every other night, Uncle Gordon was sitting at the table already starting to ramble about Leda and Aunt Larissa was sitting there looking at him with such devotion but not saying a word. Leda blocked them out and ate the meatloaf that was put on her plate. She snuck away to her room as soon as her Aunt got up to get the coffee. She laid in her bed staring out the little window in her room. She listened to the rambling of her uncle muffled through the floor and then her aunt saying that she was tired. Leda heard them go into their room and close the door.

Leda woke at a quarter till midnight; she thought she heard something outside. She stood and stared out the window, she could not believe her eyes. Her Aunt was sneaking into the woods. Leda rushed to follow her and for some reason found it to be really easy. She could hear her aunt’s footsteps even though she was yards ahead of her, she could see like it was still daylight. Leda ran to catch up to her aunt and as she was running she felt exhilarated. A feeling of warmth swam down her spine and she felt like she could run forever. The warm feeling spread down her legs and into her toes, through her arms and hands and finally into her chest, Leda had no idea what was going on and she was a little scared but she also felt strong. When the warmth touched her chest she stopped running and examined herself slowly. She could see hair sprouting up her arms and down her legs; it was the same color as her hair, bright red. All of a sudden she sank to the floor with a shriek but it came out as a howl. She was twitching and anyone who would have seen this would say she was having a seizure. Leda arms were stretched out and she was watching terrified as her fingers became shorter and eventually turned into paws. Her legs and feet felt like they two were changing but she could not see them because she shut her eyes trying to force herself to wake up from this dream. Leda lay on the forest floor for a few minutes’ eyes shut tightly and breathing very heavily. Her breaths came in quick pants and she was able to smell everything around her. She could smell that she was close to the pond and she could smell the other animals around her. There were so many new sounds and smells that she could not identify right away but she promised herself that she would find out what all of them were. Leda went to stand but was very shaky. When she finally got to her feet she opened her eyes and was shocked to see that she was standing on four paws. She ran to the pond that was no far from the house but was well hidden in the forest. Leda looked down at her reflection and could see that she had become a large red wolf. She did not believe at first that this was her. Then she could see the piercing green eyes and knew that she was the wolf in the water.

Leda stood staring at herself in the pond for what seemed like days, until out of nowhere she could hear the howling and the falls of paws somewhere nearby. Leda’s first reaction was to hide. She did not know what was going on or what would happen to her. Just as she turned to runaway three massive wolves walked toward her and she could sense that she should not run but follow. Leda stared at them for a few minutes before they turned and started to walk away. She walked with the others for a quarter of an hour until they came to a clearing. The others entered ahead of her and when she finally caught up she was surprised to find two wolves and a teenage boy. She noticed as she watched him that he was attractive. He had black hair, eyes of ocean blue, and stood very tall. He spoke as soon as she sauntered in. He bowed and said “I am Cain, this is Connor,” he pointed at the sandy colored wolf and then pointed at the brown one, “and that is Deimos. We were asked to find you and bring you back to the meeting. Leda we have been waiting for you, we have missed you very much. If you would like to change back and talk to us, all you have to do is focus your mind and you will transform.” Leda, still scared but determined to find out what the hell was going on, focused on a picture of her human self in her mind and she could feel the cold spread through her. She lay on the ground this time voluntarily because she did not want to fall again. Her legs spread out and started to shake with the cold of the night. When she looked up she could see that the others were turned away. “It’s really cold” she said. Cain passed her a robe without looking at her, “I am sorry. It is really scary the first time. If you will follow us we will take you to the next clearing where the others are waiting.” Leda walked to him and simply said, “Where too?” She was feeling braver now that Cain was standing next to her. She could not explain to herself why his presence made her feel more at home. “We have to go to the rest of the clan. There the elders will explain to you what has been going on for the last thirteen years, fill you in on everything that has happened since you were taken.”

“What do you mean taken?” Leda asked but before she could finish the question they walked into a new clearing. There were at least ten people in the clearing sitting on logs and staring into the fire that was built right in the middle of the group. She leaned into Cain and asked, “All of these people are wolves?” He gave a short laugh and nodded his head before leading her to the part of the circle where four chairs were vacant. Seconds later her Aunt Larissa stood up, Leda’s jaw dropped and she quickly shut it before anyone could notice. Larissa started speaking to the group, “Leda is now of age. She has been brought back to take what is rightfully hers. She will be brought up on the conditions of the clan and then decide if she wants what her parents have left her.” Larissa turned and spoke directly to Leda, “Leda, I know that this is scary for you but you are a werewolf. I, as you know am your father, Evan’s sister. Although Gordon does acknowledge this he does not believe it is true. I will explain it to you shortly, I promise. Your mother was leader of this clan until she was murdered. Tonight you will find out why and how, if you wish. Do you wish me to continue or will you return to your home?” Leda was still in shock but she whispered, “I want to know what happened?” Her aunt continued, “Thirteen years ago on this night your parents were walking through these very woods with you. Miranda, your mother, wanted to run for a while and your father told her to go ahead, that he would watch you. She was changing when a human walked into the area. He started yelling at your parents. They grabbed you and ran back to the manor but they did not realize that they were being followed. The young man who walked in on your mother changing followed and once it was clear that everyone within the house was asleep he set the house on fire. Your mother and father could not get out and the door to your room was blocked. The man who set the house on fire could hear a baby crying and he sprinted into your room from the back way. He snatched you and ran from the house. I did all I could to keep up with him. Once he got back to his house I knocked on the door and explained that I was new to the area. I courted him but not out of interest,” She looked disgusted and then continued, “I just wanted to make sure you were safe. I knew that it would be too dangerous for you to return to the clan until you came of age, so I married the idiot and took care of you as best I could without raising too many concerns from him. If he thought I took too much interest in you I would never be allowed alone with you. He told me what had happened but he swore that they must have taken you from some family nearby because you were just a baby and he believed that werewolves could not have children. I told him that we had to claim that you were my niece and that we took you in because my brother had passed away. I explained to him that this would quiet any questions that the neighbors would raise.” Larissa came to Leda and sat down in the chair next to her and continued, “Your mother was the leader of this clan, you inherited her duties. You have the right to refuse but we,” she waved her arm around the circle, “we would like you to stay and become our queen. Personally I would be forever grateful because I would never have to go back to that fool Gordon again. Will you join us Leda, will you be our queen?”

Leda still shocked felt a surge of love toward her aunt and stronger now that she knew what had happened. This was the life she was supposed to have. She was supposed to grow up in this clan with her mother and father in the lead. She would not have been worried during the change tonight she would have known and probably looked forward to the change occurring. She looked at the group before standing then she said, “Of course I will join you and help in whatever way I can. I know that I belong here!” Everyone in the group came up to her to kiss her cheeks, give her hugs and whisper words of welcome. Larissa introduced everyone but Leda focused more on the kids her own age. She had never had friends before. Her uncle would never allow her to talk to anyone. First, were the boys she already met but now two of them had girls on their arms. Deimos had a beautiful blonde with him, he introduced her as Luna. Luna had yellow eyes that matched her bright hair. She smelled of lilies and walked like she was on a runway. Her smile was amazingly sweet and she pulled the girl that was hugging Connor toward her. Luna said, “This is Carme. You probably don’t remember us but we use to be together all the time. My parents have pictures of the three of us running around when we were very little.” Leda laughed and was astonished because this felt familiar, like she was finally home. Carme was shorter than Leda and had short auburn hair that made her look more fairy like. When Carme hugged her, Leda was hit with the sweet smell of brown sugar. Next was Cain, he walked up to her and pulled her away from the group. “You are so beautiful. I have truly missed you! We were best friends when we were little. I have been keeping watch over you from the woods over the past year and I am so sorry I could not do anything to pull you away from that place.” Then he embraced her so tightly that she could not breath but the sensation of rightness came over her and when they walked back to the group she held tightly to his hand.

It seemed like minutes but was probably hours later that Larissa suggested that they show Leda to the new manor. The adults lead the way and the teens fell back to talk and joke but still followed. Leda and Cain walked yards behind the others. They talked for the past few hours but still had a lot to talk about. Leda wanted to get him alone to tell him something that was strange yet felt amazing. This was her chance so she stopped and looked up at him, “Cain,” but before she could go any further he was kissing her. He kissed her so deeply that her head was spinning, this was right she could tell that they were destined to be together. The others had explained to her that werewolves are born with a match already picked, there companion was always built perfectly for them and that once the two meet they would be in love forever. Every wolf had one from the moment they were born. The others say that they usually meet their matches younger than their transformation age of sixteen and that Cain was the only one in the group who had not found his companion. They explained it as walking around as only half of yourself until you meet him or her. Then once you meet, you would finally be whole and can be truly happy. Cain pulled away and looked into Leda’s eyes, “I have been waiting all year to do that. Happy birthday and welcome home.” He turned her toward the huge house that was now in front of them.

Leda was amazed at how wonderful the house was. It was big enough for the entire clan and looked to be very old but restored to like new conditions. She dashed toward the door with Cain holding her hand. The entrance opened and the entire clan was standing around an enormous birthday cake and singing happy birthday. Behind them was a banner that said “Welcome Home!” Leda walked through the doors and was finally were she was meant to be.