Hope is a dangerous yet beautiful thing to have when you've grown up knowing nothing but darkness and neglect.

If Lorelei knew what was coming, she'd never even look in the direction of that charming Hufflepuff to avoid a broken heart.

But alas, she was never that lucky.

But, at the moment, he wasn't clouding her mind.

Lorelei walked up the steps of Malfoy Manor, her home. She spent the past year studying in Russia. Each year she barely spent a semester before her parents decided to send her off abroad for reasons she never dared to question.

Her black cat, Nyx, trailed behind her.

When she walked in, she was met with the cold air and darkness she was all too familiar with. Lorelei sighed and took her luggage upstairs to her room.

Her bedroom was just as cold and gothic as the rest of the house. She never decorated it, and kept minimal things in it. She had the smallest and coldest room in the house, which is something her brother, Draco, always made fun of her for.

She found a note on her bed. She picked it up and sat down in front of her vanity and read it.

Lorelei,

Your father and I have decided to keep you here this year. Go ahead and unpack, and purchase your supplies for this year. We already made your schedule.

She recognized the handwriting to be her mother's, Narcissa Malfoy.

She sighed and crumbled up the note. It's not that she didn't want to stay at Hogwarts, it's that she had only one friend and her brother was a git. Even she knew it.

As nightfall came and the full moon shined brightly through her window, she figured her parents and brother were on a vacation.

She wanted to sleep, but the Malfoy Manor never felt like home to her. After all the traveling she had to do for school, anywhere but here felt homey.

She looked to Nyx, who was fast asleep at the end of her bed.

Lorelei decided to take a walk to her friend's home, Augustus Cairo.

Augustus, like her, was a Slytherin. He lived two miles away from her, and the only way to get to his home was through a forest. She often snuck to his house when she was home for the summer.

"Lumos." She said quietly. The tip of her wand emitted a light that helped guide her through the trees.

A soft breeze pushed back her light brown hair, causing shivers to run down her spine.

She heard a twig snap, and she quickly turned around.

"Who's there?"

She could see a pair of eyes on her. Suddenly, the shivers that went down her spine spread to the rest of her body.

As she approached the figure, she could see a pair of ears and black fur.

She sighed in relief, "Just a dog." She said quietly, looking at the large black dog staring at her.

She heard it begin to growl, "What on Earth have I done?" She questioned it, taking a few steps back.

It suddenly ran in her direction. Lorelei backed up and she tripped over a branch. The dog lept over her and tackled something behind her.

She scrambled to her feet and watched it tackle a... was that a werewolf?

She breathed heavily as her shaking hand gripped her wand. A large black dog was fighting a werewolf. What a warm welcome back home.

She could see the light of Augustus' home, but she didn't dare to take anymore steps. She watched in fear as the two animals wrestled one another down a hill to her right.

Suddenly, the growling and fighting went quiet. Lorelei slowly walked to the top of the hill and saw the black dog standing over a body.

She slowly walked down the hill against her better judgement. The black dog turned to her with sad eyes, it began to whimper as it looked at her.

She knelt down and slowly held out her hand when she realized it wasn't trying to attack her. It was trying to protect her.

The dog slowly walked to her. It sniffed her hand and began to whimper more.

"What's wrong with you? You don't look hurt..."

It dropped its head into her lap. She looked down at the dog and saw tears coming from its eyes.

"Thank you." She whispered, stroking the top of its head, "What has got you so sad, huh?" She asked it.

It stood back up and Lorelei also got up. She walked to the figure on the ground, seemingly human.

She didn't even have to get a clear view to figure out who it was, "Oh my..." she said, taking off her cloak and throwing it over Augustus' body.

She knelt down next to his sweaty body. His breathing was rapid and his eyes were barely open. He has a few scratch marks, but nothing that looked fatal.

She tied her cloak over his body and helped him up. The two silently walked to his house as the black dog trailed behind.

The two reached the door to his two story home. She looked back at the black dog, "Thank you."

The dog turned away and ran off, leaving Lorelei with an uneasy feeling.

Augustus and Lorelei said nothing to one another as they walked in. He weakly walked upstairs to take a shower while Lorelei waited in his room.

Augustus lived alone. She was the only person who knew. His parents died two years back, and their cause of death is still unknown.

Having no other family, Augustus had to fend for himself. Lucky for him, he came from money.

Lorelei sat by his window that looked out into the forest. She turned her head when she heard the wood floors crack at the sound of Augustus walking on them.

He had on a pair of pants and nothing else. His curly brown hair was dripping wet and his wounds were cleaned up.

What really stood out to her, was the scar on his face that went from his forehead to his cheek.

"So you had an eventful summer, I see." She said quietly as he slumped down on his bed.

"I don't want to talk about it." He mumbled, "Was that your dog back there?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing."

"It obviously wasn't trying to kill me. Just trying to..."

"Turn you back and keep you from killing me."

He groaned, "If you wanna stop hanging around with me, I understand. Just don't tell anyone."

"You were never good at potions. Guess that's why the Wolfsbane Potion didn't do much for you." Lorelei said, looking at the empty bottle on his bedside table.

"Not to mention the ingredients are expensive and it's a bloody difficult potion to make." Augustus mumbled, "I will seriously kill you if you tell anyone."

"Then you'll have my parents on your lycanthropy arse." Lorelei challenged, "I wonder why that dog was there..."

"It's a forest, Lorelei. There are animals everywhere."

She stood up, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Don't let the moon get you down." She simply said, walking out of his room.

She made her way back to her home with ease. She would have stayed with her friend, but she got the feeling he wanted to be left alone.

As Lorelei laid in her bed with Nyx cuddled at her side, she had a million thoughts raving through her head.

Who was the black dog?

Was Augustus going to be okay?

What would a full year at Hogwarts be like?