**The picture is of Kiara, our narrator of this one-shot, in her alternate form**

The Eyes Give Everything Away

            The school was in a panic. One of the students was missing, and people were now just noticing it. He wasn't gone long, according to what many said. But this was a risky time to be wandering past curfew and out of the castle. Hogwarts was having a bit of a werewolf problem at the moment. It was horrible, to have such a nasty problem. So far, nobody had been killed or taken away by the monster, or bitten.

But now...there was a dangerous risk of that happening tonight.

            It was such a good way to ruin the Halloween feast. Yes, of all days for a student to go missing, and he just happened to pick Halloween. The feast was canceled because of this, because the professors wanted to go look for him. They checked every inch of the school, and he hadn't been found. They suspected he was out of the castle, so some were looking outside now.

            The boy who was missing: James Potter, one son of the famous wizard, Harry Potter. He had been pretty mischievous these past two years, being that these two years were the last he'd spend in this school, as would all seventh years. He always disappeared a few times, but he always returned with an excuse. Tonight was not the case.

            Headmistress McGonagall insisted that all students were to go back to their common rooms. That's what we all did sadly. We couldn't try and escape because we had watchful eyes on us until we were all safe in the common room.

            I didn't know James like his brother and sister did, but I was really worried about him. He and I were friends, though it was a love-hate relationship. He'd do some things that just made me so aggravated, and I'd do the same to him on occasion. Let's just say our friendship was constantly tested almost every other month.

            I paced around the common room, wondering what I could do. I wanted to go look for James, because I had a rough idea as to where he was: the Forbidden Forest. That's where he sometimes was when he disappeared from the school during the day. This was a first for him, wandering into the forest at night. I just had a bad feeling something really had happened to him.

            "Something wrong, Kiara?" Natalie asked me. She was a year younger than me. Her blue eyes locked on me as I paced in front of the fireplace. She messed with a lock of curly, bright blonde hair.

            "Yes," I huffed, pacing faster now.

            "Stop it, you're making Lily worse."

            I stopped to see Lily Potter, James's younger sister, watching me with panicked brown eyes. She was huddled in the chair closest to the fireplace. Lily knew that James and I were constantly at each other's throat, and that I was always worried about him. She knew when I was like this; I suspected something bad happened to him. Either I was really predictable or Lily was good at reading people just by their mannerisms.

            "Sorry." I plopped down on the couch next to Natalie. I could hear fellow Gryffindors whispering rumors and theories. "I just can't stand being in here, knowing that he could really be out there hurt."

            "The teachers will find him, Kiara, I'm sure of it." Natalie grabbed my hand for a reassuring gesture. I pulled my hand away. What if the teachers weren't smart enough to think that James went deep into the Forbidden Forest? What if they could never find him in there? For all they knew, the werewolf could've gotten him, if not the centaurs or the huge spiders that lurked in there. The Forbidden Forest was not the ideal place for a picnic, but it was the ultimate place to go looking for trouble. And everyone in Hogwarts knew that James attracted trouble.

            "I need to go find him," I muttered out of the corner of my mouth. "I'll leave when Lily and everybody else isn't watching."

            "My services are needed, then?" Natalie sighed. I nodded. "Should I recruit Brady for the cause, too, while I'm at it?"

            "If you need backup, get him," I told her. Brady was Natalie's twin brother who did anything for her. "I need you two to cover for me if anyone asks."

            "I'll think of something."

            "Just make sure Lily, Albus and Rose don't spot me. Hugo won't really care if he sees me." I was talking about all the Weasley and Potter children who were close to James. I didn't want them to get involved in my rescue mission. Besides, I had a power they didn't; therefore I felt I would be able to find James quick—probably quicker than the teachers.

            Well, let's actually do something about it, I thought. Natalie nudged me, an all-clear sign. She rose with me, breaking off to go find her brother.

Miraculously, I slipped out of the common room undetected. I inhaled deeply, creeping along the deserted corridors of the castle. My footfalls sounded like they echoed purposely, as if they wanted me to get caught by a teacher and get punished. I tried to go on my tiptoes, but that seemed even worse.

            My luck was very good because not once did I encounter a Hogwarts professor on my way out of the castle. The chilly October air made me shiver. There was a full moon out, too, of all things. Great, so the werewolf has to be back out and on the prowl, I thought gravely.

            Looking around carefully so as not to be seen, I shifted into my Animagi form. I was one of very few students that could do this. I morphed into a beautiful, shaggy, chocolate-furred wolf. My senses sharpened immediately. My nose picked up scents that made my hackles rise. I looked to my destination: the Forbidden Forest. James has to be in there.

            I bounded silently down the steep slope and crashed into the forest. It was like there was a soundproof barrier between the school and the forest. There was fog at my feet, insects crawled on my paws, toads croaked, and tree branches creaked. I heard no howl of a werewolf...yet. Maybe it's not out tonight. But I didn't see why a werewolf wouldn't want to be out on a full moon on Halloween.

            I put my nose to the ground, trying to pick up James's scent—if I could distinguish it. I hadn't been my alternate form long enough or around James to know his scent. I was on my own.

 I trotted deep into the forest, my ears swiveling all around me, taking in all the sounds. My night vision helped me more than the moonlight that peeked through the trees.

            A few times I looked over my shoulder to see if something was following me. I had to be paranoid. Shaking my furry head, I continued on. Come on, James, just how far did you really wander in here?

            A long howl made me stop. The werewolf was back at Hogwarts. Immediately locating the source, I bolted, hoping that where the werewolf was, James was. The only thing I hoped that didn't happen was that James got bitten. I bet his parents and his entire family wouldn't be too happy if they had a werewolf for a son.

            I leapt over tall bushes just in time. A bone-skinny werewolf, with gangly front and back paws, was stalking towards something unconscious in front of it. James. Anger swelled within me. The werewolf was giving a low snarl, its teeth exposed. It was about ready to strike—

            But I struck first. I gave a low snarl to show my presence and tackled the werewolf. I took it out easy, engaging in a tumbling battle with it. It constantly struck my shoulders and tried to bite my throat, but I kept smacking its muzzle away from me. I didn't want to get bit, but even if I did, I wouldn't become a werewolf. That was the thing about being an Animagi: if you were in your alternate form, if you got bit by a werewolf, you didn't change when the full moon came along.

            I threw the werewolf off me. It yelped shrilly as it bounced on the foggy ground. I stood protectively in front of James, crouching, a fierce growl rumbling in my throat. The werewolf's beady eyes watched me, and mine watched it. It was pacing back and forth, inching closer and closer with each pass. The closer it got, the more I exposed my sharp incisors. I snapped threateningly a few times, but the werewolf didn't jump back. This creature wanted to fight me for James.

Well, it'd get a fight all right—one it wouldn't be able to win.

            The werewolf tried to make me step aside by trying to snap at me. I swiped at it with my paw. I was being as defensive as I could be. Now that I thought about it, I should've asked Natalie and Brady to follow me out here instead of covering for me. I wouldn't have to face this creep alone if I had asked them that. How come I didn't think about doing that until now?

            Bright light erupted behind us. The werewolf noticed first and retreated. I snorted in triumph and turned around to look at James. The werewolf didn't touch him; it could've thrown him around though, judging by the bleeding on the back of his head. I gave him a gentle nudge on his face. Maybe he wasn't unconscious just yet.

            I nuzzled his face more, trying to get him awake. I lay down on my belly, whimpering. Come on, James, you have to wake up. You can't be dead. Nobody is going to like that. I sure won't. James stirred and instinctively I got closer to him.

            The moment those brown eyes saw me, he didn't jump or look shocked. He looked in awe actually. I was just glad he wasn't unconscious. He reached for my muzzle, I moved closer. He could barely move. The one thing he could never stray away from was my eyes.

            I nudged his hand when he stroked my muzzle. The tiniest grin lit up his face. He knew I was a friend to him, not a werewolf. He winced in pain, reaching for the back of his head. Gently, I grabbed his wrist in my mouth and brought it back down to the ground. James never fought me once.

            "You—you saved me," he croaked. I pushed on his shoulder, trying to get him to get up. "I don't think I can stand up. I'm feeling lightheaded as it is." With a push of my head, I turned him over on his side and lay in front of him, looking over at him, moving my eyes to my back.

            It was like James could understand me easily. He crawled to root his hands into my fur. I shut my eyes from his tugging pain as he slowly pulled himself up on my back. Carefully, I rose. I felt James grip my fur tighter. He buried his head between my shoulders.

            Cautiously, I made the slow trek out of the Forbidden Forest, not once encountering the werewolf who tried to hurt James. Once I made the breach and made the steep climb back up to the castle, Natalie and Brady were there waiting for me, trying to meet me.

            "He looks unconscious," Natalie murmured.

            "I would be surprised if he wasn't," Brady said. "He's got a nasty bloody head."

            "We've got to get him to the hospital wing."

            "We can't send Kiara in there. It would look odd if a wolf of all things came strutting in with the very person people think got taken by a werewolf. The nurses would think that she did it, and then the teachers would get involved."

            "Hmm, right. But still, I don't care if we get into trouble or not, we're taking him to the nurses. Do you think you can carry him?"

            "I can try." Brady carefully got James in his arms. "Meet up with me as soon as you can." Brady disappeared, rushing an unconscious James to the hospital wing. I shifted back, my Hogwarts attire a little shredded. Overall, nothing looked ridiculously bad.

            "How deep did you have to go?" Natalie whimpered, picking off cobwebs and twigs.

            "Pretty deep. If it wasn't for the werewolf howling, I might've been too late," I panted. Natalie made me swing an arm over her shoulder so she could help me walk.

            "So the werewolf did get to him?"

            "In a sense, yes. But the only damage is his bloody head. No scratches, no bites anywhere that I could see. James is pretty lucky."

            "And so are you. Did you scare it off?"

            "No, bright lights did."

            "Must've been the teachers out looking for James, happened to be close by," Nat theorized.

            "Possibly. James wasn't scared of me at all when I got him to wake. He knew I wasn't going to hurt him."

            "Good."

            Natalie's escorting me to the hospital wing to go see James took longer than I had thought. We finally made it about five minutes later. Brady was just walking out.

            "How is he?" I blurted out.

            "The nurse says he'll be fine. He's awake now, but just barely. If everything goes well, he should be back in classes by tomorrow."

            "Good."

            "You can go in if you want; I'll walk Natalie back to the common room."

            "Okay."

            Natalie and Brady went back to Gryffindor Tower while I entered the hospital wing. James was the bed closest to the doors. I walked silently to him, grabbing a stool. His head was bandaged.

            "James?" My voice was small.

            Brady was right, he was barely awake. His eyes were opened slightly at hearing my voice.

            "Kiara?" he whispered. I smiled weakly. "Did news travel this fast that I got rescued?"

            "Yeah. How're you feeling?"

            "I've been better," he joked.

            "What were you doing out in the Forbidden Forest anyway?"

            "I thought it would be a nice Halloween treat for the school if I bagged the werewolf who was stalking students." He shrugged a little.

            "You wanted to be a hero."

            "You sound surprised."

            "Not really. Do you know how you got here?"

            "No, but I remember how I was saved." I scooted closer to the bed. "I was sure I was done. I was so close to slipping under, but then I heard this fight going on. I thought it was another werewolf fighting for me, but it wasn't. It was a wolf who was fighting to save my life. What kind of an animal does that?

            "It gave me a ride on its back, but that's the last thing I remember."

            "Strange. A wolf—a wild animal—helping a human out."

            "I know, that's what struck me odd. Oh, the wolf was a beautiful creature, Kiara, you would've loved it." James knew I had a thing for beautiful wildlife, whether mythical to Muggles or regular wildlife. "It didn't harm me at all; it was never harsh with me. It had the most beautiful eyes..."

            "Really?"

            "Mhm. Its eyes were a bright green. I could tell that I was safe just by looking into them." James looked at me. It took him five seconds before I saw something click to him. "It was you...wasn't it? You were the wolf."

            "You're a quick one, James." I giggled. "Yes, I am the wolf who saved your life."

            "You're an Animagus?"

            "Yes, unregistered though," I said lowly. I was afraid the nurse across the room would hear.

            "Wow, you're like my grandfather. He was one, too, and my father's godfather as well. But...what I don't get is why you saved me."

             "What?"

            "You hate me, Kiara, I know you do."

            "James," I snorted, shaking my head. "I never directly said to you that I hate you. If I did, we always made up."

            "I just thought you did, especially these past two years, with all the rows we've had." He shrugged.

            "Friends go through these types of things, but I think best friends go through these and still remain friends afterwards." I grinned. "We may have a constant love-hate relationship, but that's how it is between us."

            "I can't thank you enough for doing what you did tonight." James grabbed my hand feebly. "I bet my family would be grateful as well."

            "Yeah, can we not mention that it was me who rescued you?" I pleaded. "I don't want people asking how I did, and I don't want the fame. I'd prefer to keep this under wraps."

            "So then what is the story?"

            "Hmm...a wolf came to fight the werewolf for you. You snuck away from both out of the forest, crawling to the castle where...umm..."

            "Yeah, I'm finding that to be hard to make up from there, too," James chuckled. "I'll be sleeping soon, so I'll probably dream up the rest of the story."

            "I have no doubt you will." I yawned. "I better go before the teachers come back and come here to find me breaking rules."

            "You're around me; breaking rules is a pastime of mine."

            "James," I whined. "I want to keep up my good-girl image."

            "If you say so."

            I stood up, James watched me. I kissed his temple, rubbing his shoulder. He stretched his neck up to try and kiss me but I smiled and backed away. James pouted.

"I'm not that easy of a catch, James Potter," I snickered. "Trying to kiss me isn't a smart move. I play hard to get."

So he may have a thing for me. Interesting. But I wasn't sure if he was trying to repay me for saving his life tonight or not. I'd have to talk it up with Natalie. But one thing was for certain: James was never going to look at me the same way ever again.

            Without another word, I strutted out of the hospital wing and back to the Gryffindor common room before anyone could question where I was.