Both companions were panicking and so they should in such a circumstance. The full moon was approaching, Hannah had no idea how soon after having been knocked out, and they were trapped, injured and one wand down. Hannah knew the situation was hopeless. Knox no doubt knew the situation was hopeless he was just unable to word it. He wanted to keep trying to escape, get back to the ministry and pretend that everything was dandy.

The state of his leg and the glass protruding from Hannah’s head was anything but Dandy. It was a million gazillion miles away from being okay. Knox’s panicked attempt at telling his companion not to panic only made her feel more terrified. He was a big powerful wizard who had been incapacitated, was sat bleeding on the floor and sounding more frightened than his younger counterpart.

A shaky hand reached out to take his wand with the steadiness of a drunken house elf and thin fingers gripped its unfamiliar handle once more. Despite the throbbing in her head and the sickness in the pit of her stomach threatening to rear its ugly head, Hannah lifted the wand, giving a weak order of “Accio wand” yet nothing happened. No wand appeared. There wasn’t even so much of a rumble from beneath the rocks.

Hannah let out an exasperated breath and reignited the wand once more before cautiously crawling back to where she’d been, sore eyes scanning around desperately for any sign of an exit route. “We’re stuck here Greyfriar” came a weak response before the witch fell back and let out a scream of pain as agony tore through every nerve in one sudden and terrifying gush.

It had started.

It had.  "Not yet!"

Knox protested vainly but he was feeling the first of it, too.  What he always felt first was a wrenching pain of primal hunger in his gut, a stabbing, wrenching sensation of his insides' demands.  And closely following? Something closer to Hannah's experience.  It happened every time this way.  Pain. Pain. Pain.  Then, hours of nothingness. 

But first, the pain.  Knox's mobility was ruined by his leg and so the freedom with which he might be able to double-over or bury his head was impeded.  But soon the pain of transformation as his body began to change made him forget his leg.

Made him forget that he was human. 

Knox was a big man, but he was bigger yet when he was a werewolf.  His form jutted and bulged as his rib cage expanded, and his leg and feet bones lengthened.  His skull reshaped itself grotesquely and his body hair began to cover him rapidly, now a coarse fur.  And none of this happened silently.  The cries of a man gradually became the howls of a beast.

A beast unencumbered by a broken leg, or by human morals and feelings.  But man or beast, neither liked being trapped in a hole.  And where Knox had had no ability to leave, the werewolf had plenty.  The giant beast tore through the small area where they were both held captive, clawing and gnashing at obstacles and rubble.  The senseless need for a creature to escape overshadowed any caution or strategy. 

---

A pounding drum began to beat against her head, a steady beat that seemed to crescendo to become unbearable. Soft features tensed and brows knitted together as consciousness began to dawn on the young Hannah Bombay. The thudding inside her skull slowly commenced bringing her around and she groaned as the pain she’d felt what seemed like forever ago began to once more rear its ugly head. But this pain was worse. Her whole body ached; it felt as if it had been torn apart limb from limb. Skin felt raw, bones felt sore and her stomach felt ready to heave.

Two tired brown eyes slowly fluttered open to be faced with a pile of rubble and the concrete ground. The light was only dim yet there were rays creeping through somewhere.

Where was she?

It took every ounce of energy Hannah had to send a message from her brain to her limbs to actually move. Her entire body felt battered, bruised and rather incapable of movement. Yet she managed to push herself to roll over onto her back with a groan of discomfort. She didn’t move again for a few moments, closing her eyes and willing the room to stop spinning, wishing the thudding in her head would stop, that the pain would go away.

Sometime later the witch managed to push herself up to sit, her knees hugged against her chest, eyes firmly closed and head down against her knees. Hannah was now convinced that if she moved again she would hurl. It was like waking up from the world’s worst hangover. Yet this had been a despised curse one couldn’t avoid instead of self induced alcohol sickness.

The first thing Knox sensed when he came to was a bright blue sky and birds chirping.  And then a chill chill breeze over bare skin.  Oh yes, and a blinding pain in his leg.  Immediately he arched his back in a painful spasm and rolled over.  His vision was bleary in the post-werewolf morning light, that dim strange light of dawn.  He was wet from dew and every inch naked.

Hell and fire! He hated this almost more than the transformation itself.  Always waking up with his clothes torn off, and now where the hell was he! And his leg - oh god, he looked at it - it was swollen, bloody and broken just at the knee. 

"Auuuuugh!" he bellowed with pain, anger and frustration in the total deserted field he found himself in. 

The memory of the night before was coming back.  They were on Mr Tilberthwaite's land, and they'd been trapped in the house collapsing on them.  They'd both been hurt.  Where was Hannah?  They'd been trapped and transformed.  No wolfsbane, no safe house.  They were in big trouble.  He couldn't even think that they may have hurt someone.  Not again.  And this time he had only himself to blame. 

He swore again loudly, his voice carrying over the empty land. 

He'd gotten out somehow.  But where was Bombay.   He pushed himself to sitting and looked around as far as he could see.  From here, sitting on the ground, he couldn't see the cottage.  But if he remembered correctly, it had dissolved into crushing rubble on top of them.  He had no idea where he was relative.  Or how - without clothes, a leg, or a wand - he was going to get back.

"Hannah!  Haaaanaaaah!"  he shouted desperately into the air.  "Somebody!"

He hated to be found like this. But what choice was there? 

Nearby, about ten feet away was a tree.  Maybe he could pull himself up.  Maybe that would be all he needed. 

He proceeded to pull himself along on his backside, gingerly lifting himself partway off the ground and relocating a few inches along.  Slowly but surely he made his way to the tree, and slowly and painfully, he used his good leg to push himself to standing.

Merlin, why did this always have to end naked.  It was embarrassing and undignified.  And it would no doubt cause a blush from whoever did find him.  From standing now, he could see the path and the pile of rubble that was the cottage.  It looked impossibly far away.

"Haaaanaaaah!"

"Haaaanaaaah!"

A pair of light brown eyes shot open and Hannah found herself staring at her bare knees as the sound of the yelling registered ever so weakly by her still mildly alert senses. Of course, she’d been with Greyfriar, they’d been trapped. As realisation slowly began to dawn on Hannah, she lifted her head and glanced around her surroundings. She hadn’t managed to get out of here in her werewolf form so where was the hope now? Her memory brushed over the fall through the floor, the injuries and the bone trapped in Knox’s leg.

A hand reached up to her head and slim fingers stroked dried blood, crisping and sticking to her scalp, matting her dusty, messy hair. There was no glass there anymore and as her fingers touched the wound she winced and put her spare hand over her mouth as another wave of nausea took hold. She had to get out of there and find him. He wouldn’t get far on his leg now he was back in human form and his wolf form had no doubt made it worse. Her ex-professor would be in a terrible condition. Worse than a simple head wound and nausea.

Hannah took a deep breath before slowly moving onto her knees. It was cold down here and the small breeze coming from the gap in the rubble caused a shiver to run through her naked body. Where were her clothes?

After crawling forward a few metres in the dim light the witch’s silent question was answered. A yellow material lay on the floor. Or more, there lay the tattered material that had been her dress. The witch swore and turned her head. Brown eyes fell upon a large set of robes that looked like they had seen far better days. They were torn but wearable and the witch snatched them up, wrapping herself in Greyfriar’s oversized clothing. She was certainly not willing to venture out naked. Not for a wizard that didn’t bother to hide his dislike for her.

“Accio wand.” A croaky voice attempted and nothing came to her. Nothing moved, nothing made a sound. The young witch tried again, forcing her dry voice to sound stronger, louder and it worked. A hard wooden object flew into her open left hand and she gasped in relief despite the fact it was once more Knox’s unfamiliar instrument between her fingers and not her own wand.

The wand was pointed at the gap in the rubble and the healer cried as loud as her sore throat would allow her.
“EXPULSO!” The rubble flew into the air with great force and sunlight flooded the basement that had held her captive. It took a moment of heavy breathing after the exertion before Hannah scrambled to her bare feet and went for the escape route, scrambling up against the rocks and scratching her bare legs as she did. Yet the pain was ignored, this healer convinced she was now beyond it. Her fight response had finally taken over and she had to get away from here.

“Kn-Knox?” The witch pulled herself up onto the grass and felt suddenly exhausted after having expelled all of her energy. “Knox!” Giddily the witch pulled herself to her feet and stumbled, gripping the robes tightly around her bare body.

Squinting out into the distance, Hannah was certain she could see something. She tried screaming his name but all that came out was dry sound followed by a cough. She’d obviously spent the night howling as her alter ego. Bombay’s hands grabbed the long robes that drowned her tiny figure and lifted the bottom before breaking into an uneasy run towards the figure, every inch of her body crying out against the movement and exertion.

Knox's shouts for help had not only attracted the attention of his lost colleague, but also a pair of Werewolf Catchers from the Werewolf Capture Unit.  They, Mulpepper and Crumb,[1]  were a-broom over the property.  They'd found, as had Knox and Hannah, that old man Tilberthwaite's enchantments and wards had made Apparatition dangerous.  Knox's shouts had been enough for them to spy the old Wizengamot Elder and Hannah Bombay as she emerged from the cottage. 

The swooped down wands drawn to a location between the newly awoken pair. "Stand down! Drop the wand! Werewolf Capture Unit!"

Mulpepper dismounted and immediately began towards Hannah, her wand leveled.  "Hannah Bombay, you are being detained for violating the Werwolf Code! Drop the wand and put your hands in the air."

Louis Crumb was similarly occupied and approached Knox his wand pointed straight at him.  "Mr. Greyfriar, you're hereby detained by the Werewolf Capture Unit.  Come along quietly." 

Unlike Hannah, it was clear to anyone approaching that the old wizard wasn't in any position to make a fuss, and Knox laughed in relief and disbelief.   Relief that help had arrived, but incredulous that the WCU people approached him as if he was dangerous.  He had been not a few hours ago, but now? He was on the verge of losing consciousness.

"I'm not in the position to go anywhere...!" he cried in exasperation.  As Crumb neared, the agent could see that indeed Knox was in no condition to resist and, in fact, was in need of clothing and care.  "He's injured!" Crumb called over to Mulpepper, who was dealing with Bombay.  "We'll handle this at St. Mungos.  Don't move, sir."

Crumb conjured forth a large blanket from a shallow satchel at his hip and offered it to Knox who grabbed for it and covered up against the chill.   "You two are in a world of trouble," Crumb told him as he made a cursory inspection of Knox's broken leg.  "We've been looking for you all night.  You know what that means, do-"

Knox cut him off.  "Yes I bloody know what it means! Just get me to Mungo's and I"ll sort all of this out!"

"Not going to be as simple as that, sir."

1.	NPCs.  Esme Mulpepper and Louis Crumb are experienced agent of the Unit.

"Stand down! Drop the wand! Werewolf Capture Unit!" A voice roared and the young healer stopped dead in her tracks, her gaze lifting from the grass before her to fall upon the two figures quickly dismounting their brooms. The female came straight for the witch drowned in oversized robes and panting for breath, shouting at her to drop the wand and raise her hands.

This was the kind of situation where Hannah would normally have obeyed and gone willingly, not believing in causing a scene and unnecessary trouble. A sweeping gaze past the WCU agent approaching to where the attention of the other agent was made Hannah very unwilling to relinquish the wand. Greyfriar’s leg was covered in more blood, it looked like it was agonising and if that was left any longer there could be lasting damage.

Hannah stayed where she was for a moment, robes hugged tightly around her body and wand lowered but still gripped carefully between her fingers. Mulpepper raised her wand, now pointing it directly at the bleeding witch.

“Drop the wand and put your hands in the air!" yelled the agent yet again and Hannah, still trying to catch her breath, once more ignored this order.

“You have to let me help him.” She finally responded, her voice croaky and dry. She was evidently pulling on any reserve of energy she possibly had. The agent scanned back to her partner before opening her mouth to evidently once more shout at Bombay or disarm her.

“Unless you want to be responsible for a wizengamot elder losing a limb!” Knox’s wand was now directed at Mulpepper’s chest as the small witch yelled at her. “That will happen unless I can realign the bone!” What harm was one small lie when they were already in so much trouble?

"Expelliarmus!"

Knox's attention was drawn away from Agent Crumb over to where another agent was handling Bombay.  Agent Mulpepper had not taken any heed of Hannah's demands to tend to the Wizengamot Elder and without hesitation had cast the disarming charm with swift efficiency.  The wand that belonged to Greyfriar flipped from Hannah's grip to fall and fling to the ground in front of Mulpepper who stopped down to pick it up, all the while keeping her wand and gaze trained on the rogue werewolf witch.

"None of that, Bombay," she warned, stony and unrelenting.

Knox called out to Hannah, but he wasn't doing well and her name came out raspy and low.  He didn't know if she would hear him.  Crumb shouted over to Mulpepper.

"I need to get him out now, Mulpepper.   Taking him to Mungo's.  Have you got her?"

As the agent said so, he cast a strong levitation charm on old Greyfriar.  Protocol dictated the quickest and safest way out with an immobile injured rogue werewolf was to get him to an Apparition-safe area, then Side-Along to Mungo's.  That would have to occur by broom. 

Before the last word had left Hannah’s lungs the werewolf capturer swiftly disarmed her and Hannah felt the wand quickly slide from between her fingers, shooting into the air and landing at the feet of the witch that obviously had no regard for the gravity of the real problem at hand. Greyfriar looked fit to collapse from the blood loss and these wand waving idiots were more focused on disarming the witch that could actually help him.

It wasn’t until Mulpepper stonily spoke to Hannah, warning her that she realised that she had no control over this situation. That her and Knox were in a grave amount of trouble and the responsible healer and respected wizengamot elder were not longer to be trusted. They were dangerous rogue beasts that had broken the law.

“None of what?” Hannah practically spat at the other witch, her pale face filling with blood as she found herself getting angry. How dare someone disarm her and speak to her in such a manner when none of this was their fault! The usually quiet, cold witch was suddenly wanting to fight back.
“If you would just use your pathetic brain you would realise that I could-”

“That’s enough!” Mulpepper cut Hannah short, raised her wand and a loud crack was heard. A force took hold of Hannah’s body, mercilessly pushing her backwards, sending her stumbling over the oversized robes and against the floating broomstick. There she found her hands magically stuck to the wood and she was unable to pull away as she struggled.

“Knox!” Bombay yelled with her sore voice, her eyes alive with anger and frustration. Mulpepper mounted the broom and took flight, her unwilling passenger continuing to struggle against the force upon her.

“Knox!” Now she was scared.

By that time, Knox and Crumb were already aloft and on their way to the fastest route possible off the property to a safe Apparition point.  Unlike Mulpepper, Crumb seemed marginally more talkative.  Perhaps it was because his charge was slightly more agreeable.

"We searched hours for you two when you didn't show up at the WCU," he shouted over the wind.  "Got last whereabouts from you office, but this bloody bit of land's so damn enchanted and hexed we couldn't even start looking properly until day break.  Doesn't look like either of you made if far...!"

Crumb continued to ramble in the wind, half to explain things to Greyfriar, half to keep the injured old Elder keyed in and distracted.   Greyfriar himself wasn't in the mood to talk (a rare event).  He had no idea how he was going to explain this, and even as a scholar of the Law, werewolf law was not always easy to predict.  He didn't know what penalty there'd be for him and Bombay. 

They reached the edge of Tilberthwaite's land not five minutes later.  Crumb landed them both safely on the ground and with trained quickness, Side-Alonged them both (broom and all) to St. Mungo's, directly into the werewolf ward.