Prologue
17th June 1989 - Vivianne “Vi” Vole
There was a noise coming from the forest.
It sounded beast-like, with its heaving breaths and its scratching. Vivianne had always just assumed that a family of bears had taken residence behind her home, but if she had been older she would have known that bears were not native to England.
If she was older, she would have known to stay away.
But she wasn’t “older.” True, she was older than she had been yesterday, but her age in years was objectively young. It was June, and having just turned nine, Vi took it upon herself to investigate, if not to calm her own fears, then her little brother, Marcus’.
The night was cold, and Vi’s hand shook as she held up her wand (new, given on her birthday, eleven inches, dragon heartstring core). It didn’t matter that she had no clue how to wield it properly - it was a recognizable weapon, and that was all that mattered. Besides, if it could light up without her asking, like it just knew that she wanted it to, then she could trust it.
Vi moved quietly, but quickly. If she wanted to know what had been hiding in the forest, she couldn’t scare it away with loud footfalls. She wished she had grabbed her shoes before leaving the house. Despite it being summer, her toes grew cold and she disliked the feeling her wet socks left her with.
Heuh…huhhh….heffff.
The forest was breathing.
The trees were thin enough that if the creature had been hiding behind one, Vi would be able to see it. Her naivety lended a sense of false security as she crept around the trees until she found herself on the edges of a glade. In the center was a rock - no, a boulder - large enough to crouch behind, and a tree. Vi, holding her wand, pressed her hands against one side of the stone, her cheek pressed against the chill. It was cold enough that she could see the condensation of the creature’s breath as it twirled into the sky.
Her skin itched in anticipation of finally finding the source of the forest’s personification. She heard the creature shuffling on the other side of the rock, inhaling loudly. No, not inhaling - sniffing. The creature could smell her.
And then it howled.