Amongst the Hunted Moons

Summary:

In which we see the world through Harrys eyes.

Privet Drive, Surrey.

Harry Potter was angry.

"Bollocks, fuck, bitch, whore, slut, cunt, fuck fuck fuckfuckfuck!!!" Harry's voice echoed throughout the street of Privet Drive as he stormed down the street red-faced.

Okay, correction, Harry Potter was pissed.

One week, one bloody week was all he had to get through, and he couldn't even do that! It all began two weeks ago when his uncle stormed into his room and told him with no uncertain terms that his sister Marge (Harry refuses to call her aunt in any way, the one he already had was bad enough.) Was coming to stay for a week, and if he wanted his bloody form signed for his freak school for freaks like him, that he would mind his manners and not a peak of freakishness from him or else.

What the "or else" was I had no clue, I had left before he could make good on the threat, and the week went fine until tonight. I had sent Hedwig to Hermione's with a note asking her to watch my owlish friend while Marge was over, I had put up with all her remarks, and man did she like making those, it's not like I don't already know how useless and pathetic I am. I put up with her ugly as sin bulldog that takes a real effort not to punt the damn thing over the fence, I took it all with a smile just to get that Hogsmeade permission form signed, but Marge had seemingly saved her best insults and remarks for her last drunken night at my aunt and uncles.

My mom and dad, she tore into them and repeated all the lies I had grown up with. Aunt Petunia never makes comments about them nowadays, not even uncle Vernon says anything since Hagrid knocked down the door almost three years ago. So having all those lies dragged up again, I-I just lost it, Ya know? It slipped and the next thing I know she started to swell up like a balloon, well a much larger balloon than she already was. With Dobby dropping the pudding last year, I have no doubt the Ministry is at my Aunt and Uncle's house right now looking for me to snap my wand, or at the very least are on their way. I have to get out of here, I need to get to the Ally so I can grab some gold and get out of England or something.

I had come to the park down on Wisteria Way, the place Dudley normally bullies kids half his size out of pocket change and sweets, but he's always been like that when he and his friends weren't "Harry hunting" that is, not that they could ever catch me. I might be worthless but I'm at least fast enough to escape him.

I drop my trunk by the curb and take a seat on it, rub my eyes and face, I am so totally fucked. I sigh as I look up, the half moon drifting lazily in the sky, I've always liked the night sky, the soft silver glow of the moon, the twinkling of the stars I can half make out, and the constellations I knew by heart, the only class I do half decent It Hogwarts was astronomy I'm horrible at potions with Snape breathing down my next, McGonagall couldn't even look me in the eye last year and she's my head of house. Probably already knows how useless I am, with as many points she takes off me in class it wouldn't shock me if she and Snape work together to get me kicked out, and probably celebrate after I'm gone.

I sigh out loud, putting my face into my hands, what am I gonna do. I could always just go back, and let them snap my wand, it's not like I'm actually good at this magic stuff, I'd just have to suffer three more years at the Dursley's then I could just live off the gold in my vault, get it converted to Pounds, wouldn't be to- what the fuck was that? I heard something snap in the bushes across the way, I'm standing, wand held low but ready. I swallow the lump of fear forming in my throat, as one of the biggest dogs I've ever seen comes from out of the bushes. It was a matted mess of a stray, I could practically count its ribs from how thin it was, almost as thin as me.

"Good doggy, nice doggy," I say to it in a calm voice "you're not gonna bite me are ya boy." I've always liked animals, Ripper not included, and they've always liked me, Ripper also not included. So I try to be nice to stray dogs and cats I see around the neighborhood, but this one is new and has a bit of a crazed look in its grey eyes. When it starts barking I lift my wand, I was just gonna scare it off, a simple firecracker charm, nothing to hurt it, like I said I li- BANG.

and like that, I'm falling ass over tea kettle over my trunk because something HUGE pops into existence right before me. As I look up from the ground it's, well it's a bus, I think. Never seen a bus that has three decks and was purple of all colors with "THE KNIGHT BUS" printed on the side in letters so big not even I could be mistaken by them.

That's when the door by the front of the bus pops open and out steps a pimple-faced guy only a few years older than me and starts reading something off a card. I looked around my trunk but I didn't see the dog anywhere and it didn't sound like the bus hit it.

"What'cha doing on da ground for?" The pimple-faced guy asks me, what? Oh, right, enormous purple bus. Person talking to me, I knew that. I get off of the ground brushing myself off, "I fell." I tell him and he gives me a look.

"This is a bus right?" I ask him. He tells me it is. "And you'll take me anywhere?" I ask for my follow-up question.

He looks at me oddly again, "are ya soft in da head, boy. I just told ya dat." He says and I feel my face do an involuntary twitch at the word, I really do hate being called that.

"Ah, right, sorry. To the leaky cauldron then?" I ask, he nods and gives me a price and I quickly dig the gold out of my trunk, he listed a bunch of other things but I stopped listening after I handed him the gold. "-Name?" I catch him saying to me, "What?" I ask back confused, he looks annoyed with me as he asks again "I asked what'cha name was boy?" I once again twitch, oh fuck he wants my name. "Umm, … Neville, Neville Longbottom," I tell him remembering one of my dorm mates' names, and he just nods and writes it down on some parchment.

"How long till we get to London?" I ask pimple-face, I think he said his name but I completely missed it, "oh, I'd say about two hours, we've got two stops before yours." I just nod as he helps me with my trunk and an empty cage up onto the bus.

It wasn't too bad, I was pretty bored, I took the time to check out the top two compartments, trying not to bother anyone else. We stopped a few times and picked up a few people, and dropped off the two other passages before me. Before I knew it they were calling my stop, and I was getting off the bus, just to be greeted, by my real name, by Cornelius Fudge. The Minister of Magic himself, well…fuck.

He thanked the guys who were working on the knight bus for dropping me off safe and sound before dragging me upstairs, he explained that I wasn't in trouble, that "accidents do happen.", and my Aunt was no worse than how she was an hour before I had left, shame about that last part.

He also told me that the Ministry had paid for my stay at the leaky cauldron for the remainder of the summer so long as I was not to go into Muggle London and stay on the Magical side. He also asked me about some guy, Sirius Black. My first question was " Like the star?" And he just chuckled, apparently, the guy escaped Azkaban and was on the run.

I agreed to stay on the Magical side and not leave it, the Minister then shook my hand and told me it was an honor to meet me, I have no idea why it was, and left. Huh, get out of jail free card, sweet!

Tom then showed me to my room and told me I had already had a guest, this confused me right until he opened the door. "Hedwig!" I called out, she turned and saw me before flying over and landing on my shoulder, nuzzling her face into mine.

"I've missed you too girl," I say as I nuzzle her back, Tom, the innkeeper not the asshole, speaks up, "Wicked smart owl you've got there Mister Potter, showed up about an hour before you did and refused to leave. If it wasn't for someone passing through I wouldn't have known she was yours." He tells me before going on to explain when breakfast and dinner are served, apparently, I'd just missed dinner. He told me about a few places to catch a meal in the alley if I was feeling peckish.

I thank him for everything before he leaves, I set up Hedwig's cage and make sure she has water before I grab my money pouch and start to head out. As I get to the bottom of the stairs I can hear Tom the innkeeper, not the asshole, arguing with someone.

"Come on man, you take gold and this is gold." A female voice says followed by a few knocks on the bar. "Ay, it MIGHT be gold but it's not stamped gallons nor is it Pounds little lady, I'm not taking it. You can go to Gringotts and get them exchanged. I don't do foreign currency here." Tom the innkeeper, not the asshole, says back. I finally come into the bar area and get a look at who the female's voice belongs to, and, man, she is tall. Probably taller than most 7th years, her shortcut blond hair falls over her ears, her back is turned to me so I can't make out her face, but she's got a blue and silver Muggle cap on, a silver jacket, and black tights but oddly enough, no shoes. The Jacket sparks, something, in my head like a memory of a dream that you've half forgotten, Ya know.

The woman sighs out in frustration" I don't even know where this Gringotts is, I'm just passing through, I'll just be here a day or two at the most." She says in a pleading tone of voice but by the way, Tom the innkeeper, not the asshole, is looking at her, I can tell it's not gonna fly.

"I can show you." They both turn to look at me, Tom with wide eyes and the women with narrowed ones of forest green. She has high cheekbones and a slightly pointed chin, she'd be really pretty if she wasn't scary as all hell. Why the fuck did I just say that?

"I'm umm, I'm going there myself, I can show you…" I trail off and fidget a bit as she doesn't even blink, she looks me up and down like she's sizing me up or something. Seriously, why did I open my mouth?

The woman doesn't smile but nods, "sure kid, thanks for the help." She says with an odd mix of an accent, which sounds like a blend of American and something else, she picks up a backpack off the floor. Her hat has some type of face logo on the front with "blat canal boat fallout" right above it, I think? Doesn't matter much as Tom the innkeeper, not the asshole, opens his mouth and says "Very generous of ya Mister.." I cut him off with a look, he seems to get it as he doesn't finish saying my last name, I don't need that any more than I get in my life.

We go out the back of the inn and walk up to the brick wall, the woman looks confused for a second before I pull out my wand and tap the correct brick, the pathway to Diagon Alley unfolds before us, I look back and the woman doesn't seem too impressed by it, I shrug and walk through with her following behind me.

"We're going there," I say as I point out the tall marble columns and walls of Gringotts at the top of the alley, I hear the woman snort behind me, when I look back at her she must have seen the question on my face.

"Sorry, it just reminded me of something else, I found it funny." She says with a shrug. We walked through the alley, with the late hour most of the shops were closed but I could see a few of the late-night food places still open, and, oooh the ice cream shop is open, I know what I'm getting.

"So, why are you in England?" I ask my companion as we walk at a decent pace, she shrugs again before saying "Work, to be honest, I'm supposed to head up north to Scotland to a big castle up there, meet some kid. The boss was pretty light on the details." She glances over at me, "you go to Hog-quarts, right? Some school up in Scotland?." She asks me.

"Umm, do you mean Hogwarts?" I ask back, keeping my eyes on my shoes, while she takes the lead. With it being dark out I don't want to freak the girl out with my, well freakiness.

"It's called HogWARTS?! Who names a school that?" She asks in a shocked but amused tone of voice, I shrug, I don't know why it was called that either, pretty sure Hermione would know, I should probably write to her and tell her what happened. I'll do it tomorrow, after a full night's rest, hope she's not freaking out because Hedwig isn't there anymore.

"Do you know a kid named Harry Potter?" She asks, I almost stop and look at her, but I continue mumbling something like a no while freaking out a bit on the inside, "oh, well my boss wants me to meet him, I think she's looking to recruit him or something a bit weird, to be honest." She says back, I open my mouth to ask what she does for a living for her to be recruiting when a breeze picks up, the smell of the wind does make me stop and snap my head off to the right.

You know that smell when you find a dead animal, the sickly sweet smell right before something begins to rot, it still makes you want to gag but it's not as bad as it's gonna be? That's what I smelled at that moment, but what I saw didn't match up, two women in thick black cloaks and long red dresses, both were very pretty. Pale skin that seemed to glow in the moonlight, bloodless lips that seemed almost blue, huge dark bags under their eyes, and even from across the street I could make out the crisscrossing veins that run under their skin. But it was their eyes that put me on edge, red, not like they were bloodshot but a full red Iris. Vampires and they were looking dead at me.

I swallow the lump in my throat, my heart starts to beat faster, my hands clench and unclench, I wanted…, I wanted to…

I nearly jump out of my skin when I feel a hand on my back, the woman was looking right at the vampires hanging outside knockturn alley, I hear her tell me in a low voice "don't worry about them, just keep walking, if they try anything I'll deal with them."

But I didn't want to walk away, I wanted to go toward them, I wanted…, I don't even know, but everything in me wanted to chase them, to-to something. I shake my head and listen to the tall scary lady, so I keep my head down and start heading to Gringotts again.

My body is shaking like it's freezing outside but it's a warm summer night and my heart is pounding in my ears, it feels like, like when me and Ron found the book page in Hermione's hand, when we found out it was a Basilisk in the Chamber or when we ran through the gauntlet in the Catacombs under the school, it gets harder to focus on anything but, but the chase and, and…

We're at Gringotts, the golden door that welcomes thieves and customers alike, the armored goblins at the front eye us as the woman, with her hand still on my back, guides me inside.

The rest is kinda a blur, she leaves me to go get an exchange, I show a teller my key and get my gold. I don't wait for the woman to show back up and leave the bank by myself hoping for something to happen, as to what that something is, I have no clue.

I stop across the street from knockturn alley, making sure that I'm in the shadows so as not to be seen, I watch for a few moments, the ladies of the night are gone but I do see a few hooded people come and go, my stomach is in knots as I just stand here. Wanting to go across the street, but at the same time just wanting to go back to the Leaky Cauldron where Hedwig and a bed are waiting for me. In the end, my cowardice wins out and I start back to the inn, some Gryffindor I was.

I make it in before Tom the innkeeper, not the asshole locks up, I inform him the tall scary lady should be back soon with the galleons to pay for her room, and he tells me he'll wait a little bit longer to lock up for her. I get upstairs and go to my room, kicking my shoes off and go lay down on the bed.

I let out a sigh as soon as I lay down, it's way too soft, like sinking into a marshmallow, I hate that I miss my cot from the cupboard all these beds are way too soft for me, so I pick myself up off the bed and grab the blanket, moving to the large reading chair by the unlit fireplace.

As I swing my legs over the armrest and get comfortable, a flapping of wings gets my attention as Hedwig lands on the back of the chair, she looks down at me and flutters her wings then tilts her head, her yellow eyes blink as she softly hoots. "Come on girl," I tell her as I pat my chest knowing she'll understand me. She does as she hops down and begins to nest in the crook of my arm against the seat, with her legs pulled up and her on her back, she hoots softly one more time before closing her eyes. I take my wand out of my pocket, and with it firmly in hand and on my chest, I close my eyes drifting off to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~

"What did I tell you!? What did I tell you, boy!?" Uncle Vernon screams at me, purple in the face, as he drags me down the hall by my arm, almost wrenching it out of the socket "I told you no more freakishness, that I won't tolerate any more of it! You're not a wizard and I will hear no more business about some freak school!"

"Please Uncle, I don't know what I did, please not the cupboard!" I beg, crying. I look over to my Aunt's uncaring face, and Dudley, pointing and laughing at me, knowing they won't help, they never help. I hear the cupboard door open, "please no, I don't want to go back, I didn't mean it, I'll be good I swear!" I try to pull my arm from his grip but he's far too strong. I feel him pick me up and throw me bodily into the cupboard like he's done so many times before.

It feels like I'm being thrown through molasses as I fall in slow motion. I watch him slam the door shut before locking it, his bloodshot eyes looking through the vent as he screams "There is no such thing as magic! You're right where worthless little burdens like you belong! It will be a week before I let you out if you're lucky!" Before he slams the vent shut, locking me in darkness.

I fall.

And fall.

And fall.

I hit a cold wet stone floor, I look around, and I'm back in the Chamber, Ginny is laying on the ground, pale and lifeless, I crawl over to her calling her name begging her to wake up, but I know I'm too late.

"She's dead." A voice says from behind me, I look, and Tom Riddle is standing there, my wand in hand and a smirk on his face. "You're too late Harry Potter, the girl is dead and it's all your fault because you were too pathetic to save her, too weak, too…" his smile turns sharp and cruel "worthless."

"No!" I scream, "No, i-i killed the basilisk, i-i-i stopped you!" I cry out into the uncaring cavern as the massive shadow of the great serpent raises behind Tom Riddle, his cold laugh echoing throughout the Chamber.

"You did stop me, didn't you, Harry Potter? But at what cost?" A high hissing voice calls out, I spin around and I see Voldemort's face coming out from the back of Quirrell's head, red eyes gleaming with malice. I look past him and into the mirror, I see myself on my knees, the body of my parents next to me.

"It's your fault they're dead, Harry. I only came for you, if it wasn't for you, if you were never born, then they would still be alive and happy." He hisses the truth at me, it is my fault, I shouldn't have been born, not me. I'm just a worthless freak, I wish I was never born.

The growling comes next, right in my ear, I turn my head and spot the massive black dog, hungry and half mad, slobber dripping to the floor, its grey eyes looking into mine, I close my eyes waiting for the end, hoping it's the end. I don't want to do this anymore.

"Wake up."

I open my eyes, and the large black hound is gone, but Amber cat-like eyes replace it, I can't see the face for it's hiding in the shadows.

"Wake up boy, or else you'll be the prey this night."

And then I feel a small hand push me…

~~~~~~~~~~

I awake with a gasp, my hand tightens around my wand as I look around the room, I'm not in the Chamber, I'm not-not in the cupboard, I'm in my room at the Leaky Cauldron, I let out a sigh. It was a dream, it was all just a dream.

A clatter draws my attention, I look over and see the window in my room open, weird. I get up, shifting carefully to not disturb Hedwig, and lay her down on top of the blanket, putting my wand next to her. I walk over to the window and shut it, latching it closed, sighing again I close my eyes and rest my head against the window. It was just a dream, I saved Ginny, and I stopped him.

As I open my eyes, readying myself to crawl back onto the chair, my heart stops. In the reflection of the window, over by the chair, I see two gleaming red eyes. I spin around quickly, it's the redhead from Knockturn Alley, she looks at me with a smile as I pat my pockets in panic, fuck! My wand! It's on the chair!

She chuckles at me, "missing something?" She says in a teasing voice, "I'm surprised you woke up, I thought I was being quiet enough, but then again, you half-bloods always have a strong sixth sense for danger, so I shouldn't be that surprised." She takes a few steps closer as I try to move away from her, backing myself into the corner of the room.

"It's been a while since I had a taste of your kind, as soon as we saw you, we knew. But being this close, your scent is simply mouth-watering." She says as she edges closer, her hand trailing the back of the chair, her fingernails like talons. There's a thump coming from the wall next to my bed that makes me jump, "mmm, don't mind that, it's my sister dealing with the Hunter, she'll be done soon, and then she'll come to join us. I personally think that I got the much cuter prey, however." She says with a flirtatious smile, well I think that's what she's going for, all I see is the fangs.

I press myself between the dresser and a wardrobe, and my eyes start flickering around the room trying to find a weapon, anything to help me. Then I see it, the swiss army knife that I got from the dream girl, I wonder for half a second how it got there when I know it was at the bottom of my trunk, before grabbing it and trying to find the knife, "oh no dear, none of that!" She says as she starts to charge at me.

That's when a berk fills the room and my wonderful, beautiful, smartest, best owl in the whole damn world flys at her, like a vengeful spirit, she claws, pecks, and pulls her hair as I fiddle with the knife. I look down for half a second and, Yes! The knife! Then I look back up as I hear a sqwak and something hitting the wall, Hedwig is on the bed, unmoving.

I turn my head and look at the Vampire, this bitch just hurt Hedwig.

THIS BITCH JUST HURT MY OWL!

Instead of the white hot rage I expected to fill me, I got calm, and my panic disappeared, and the vampire starts moving so slowly. She turns and lunges at me, and I swing my knife, except it's not a knife anymore, it's two and a half feet of glowing silver sword.

It cuts through the vampire's outstretched arm like it was butter, I see her stop her momentum and try to pull back, but the tip of the sword catches her eye and craves it out.

Her scream of pain is only drowned out by the scream that comes from the other room.

She turns towards the scream yelling, "STELLA!" Before turning back to me looking far more feral than before, her face shifting to ugly bat-like features, she hisses at me showing rows of shark-like teeth before someone starts banging on my door. "I don't know who's in there, but I've already called the Aurors, they're on their way, do you hear me! Mister Potter, are you okay? Say something!" Calls Tom the innkeeper, not the asshole.

The Vampire looks at the door, then back to me and my silver sword, before roaring and jumping out of the window right as the door to my crashes open, Tom the innkeeper, not the asshole, sees this, curses, and turns on his heel to chase after her.

I run to my window, I can see my prey running down the Alley below, before I know it my foot is on the ledge of the window and I'm about to jump out and give chase, but the stabbing pain in my foot draws me back to reality, what the hell am I doing!? I look back down at the fleeing vampire, half of me wants to jump out of the window and the other half wants to break down, I feel like I'm being torn in two by it.

But that's when I hear, the twing of a string being plucked, and a silver streak flying across the night sky as if it was a comet, and I knew, whatever it was, it was gonna hit the Vampire, I don't have to wait for long to see that I'm right. It lands and a burst of flames comes from the middle of the street as the undead heart is pierced.

I stood at my window in shock, wondering what the hell was that when the face of the tall lady from earlier appeared from the roof, upside down, she looks at me oddly before asking "You okay kid?"

I don't answer her back, as I'm too busy looking at what's coming out the top of her head, cat ears, two large fuzzy cat ears, like the kind Hermione had coming out of her head last year, but these look like they blended perfectly in with her hair, same color fur, and everything.

When I don't answer back, she tilts her head, looking between my eyes and the silver sword still in my hand, then she smiles a large grin which reminds me of the Chester cat.

"Don't know Harry Potter, huh?" She says.

Well, …fuck.

Notes: 

I have created a DIscord Server for all you to join come and talk to me https://discord.gg/PzZaX5MGJK

Take a look at my new Patreon account where you can gain early access to my content a week in advance! Starting this Monday, updates will be scheduled weekly. Since I've already completed the first five chapters, it will take some time before I finish writing more.

Link: https://www.patreon.com/Chartso_