Run With the Storm
Chapter 20: Run With the Storm
The cold bit into his fur as his paws touched the snow.
But Harry barely felt it.
His thoughts were clearer than they’d ever been.
Screw the Dursleys.
Screw Dumbledore and his rules.
He was done feeling like a prisoner.
His pack wasn’t here.
His pack was where he felt safe.
Where he was allowed to be who he truly was.
He gently picked up the shredded plush wolf between his teeth, his heart pounding in his chest.
Then he ran.
Ran without looking back.
His instincts guided him.
He remembered Malfoy once mentioning, offhandedly, that the family estate was in southern Yorkshire.
That was all he needed.
The snow crunched under his swift paws.
The night was cold, but his muscles kept him warm.
He ran through dark streets, slipped through alleys, dodged every gaze that might catch him.
Cars rushed by.
He ducked into shadows, waited until the path was clear, then sprinted onward.
His body felt lighter than ever before.
He was no longer the boy who followed rules.
No longer the one who hid.
He was a wolf, running home.
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After hours—maybe even days, he couldn’t tell anymore—he felt himself nearing Yorkshire.
His body screamed for rest.
But he pressed on.
He wouldn’t give up.
Not until he was there.
Not until he found his pack again.
And when he finally saw the towering walls of the Malfoy estate…
He ran faster.
His heart pounded, breath coming in short bursts.
He leapt through a gap in the wall, landing in the snow-covered garden.
He was there.
He was finally there.
His pack was near.
And that was all that mattered.
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Harry’s paws left tracks in the snow as he made his way toward the Malfoy estate.
His breath came in quick gasps, his muscles burned from the long journey.
He was tired.
Cold.
But he was there.
And soon, he’d see his pack again.
But something held him back.
He needed to be sure.
To know he was really welcome.
So he crept carefully toward the large living room window.
He barely rose above the snow, his white fur rendering him almost invisible.
He leapt onto a low ledge, peered through the glass.
And what he saw…
Shattered something inside him.
Draco sat on the living room floor.
Next to him stood the tallest Christmas tree Harry had ever seen.
Lights twinkled among its branches, presents piled underneath.
It was a perfect, warm scene.
But that wasn’t what froze Harry’s heart in his chest.
It was the small white creature curled in Draco’s arms.
A puppy.
A snow-white, lively little pup that playfully nipped at Draco’s fingers, tail wagging with joy.
Harry’s breath hitched.
What…?
A jolt of shock struck him like a curse.
Then he saw a door open in the background.
Nott, Zabini, and Pansy stepped into the room, laughing.
They sat down casually beside Draco.
The little puppy bounded to them, was petted, picked up by Nott.
They laughed.
They looked… happy.
Without him.
Harry’s wolf howled silently inside.
They replaced me.
That was the only thought racing through his head.
His pack.
His family.
He had hoped they missed him.
That they felt what he did.
But after just a week, they had… someone new.
Someone who was there.
Someone who didn’t have to leave.
Harry felt something inside him fracture.
A deep, aching crack split through his chest.
He blinked, his throat tightening.
Then he slowly let the plush wolf fall from his mouth.
It landed in the snow below the window.
The last remnant of what once was home.
Then Harry turned.
No sound.
No glance back.
He vanished into the snow as silently as he had come.
His pack hadn’t just left him.
They had replaced him.
And he was…
Alone.