~
Sirius grinned to himself as he saw Snape being eyed hungrily by Remus. Everything was going as planned. He intended for the Slytherin to be a little shaken up when this encounter was over. Snape had searched for the reason Remus had been disappearing for too long. And then, the last straw had been when he insulted Alex, right when she was so distraught… yes, this would certainly keep Snape off their backs for a while.
Of course, he couldn’t let Snape actually be attacked by a werewolf… not when Remus could be expelled or in serious trouble with the law for it. Sirius planned to jump in and herd Remus back into his room, though he would much rather let Snape fend for himself. Sirius sat by on his haunches, enjoying the look of pure terror on his enemy’s face. Then, a sudden rustling from inside the shadows caught his attention. Sirius heard a voice issue an order in hushed tones, “Don’t look him in the eye, Snape. He’ll attack sooner.”
Sirius froze, his pleasure melting away. He knew that voice. What was James doing down here? If he wasn’t careful, he could be hurt! Frantic thoughts swirled around in his head, confusing him even more. This wasn’t supposed to happen! Why would James try to help Snape?
However, all thought seemed to stream out of his head as he saw the muscles in the werewolf’s back begin to ripple. He had seen him go through these motions many times throughout their many nights of roaming around the forest- Remus was going to pounce. Without fully knowing what he was doing, Sirius jumped in front of the two wide-eyed sixth years. Sirius knew that was a stupid thing to do; he would probably be bitten. He felt something long and hard sink into his right flank, then rip itself out with a jagged movement. Through darkening eyes he could see that James and Snape had already started to run, leaving him alone with a rabid werewolf.
Sirius turned around. Moony’s hard yellow eyes were glinting in the dim light. They rolled around in pleasure at the smell of fresh blood being spilt. In fact, the eyes were almost a different color entirely- looking like a smoky gray… The werewolf stiffened. From his mangled position on the ground, Sirius could see the fur straighten out, then shrink. Bloody claws were retracted into paling feet. A moan filled the passage, filled with the loss of prey, then became filled with pain. Sirius watched, unmoving, as his attacker slowly, painfully morphed into one of his best friends.
~
When Remus was fully himself, his eyes rolled back into his head. Every month, he thought he’d had the most painful transition possible. And every month, he was proven wrong yet again. He let the pain and emotions roll over his body, then pass. He blinked slowly. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Why wasn’t he in the Shrieking Shack? That was highly unusual.
He reached up to scratch his chin, and the situation grew stranger. Why was there water on his fingers? He held them and squinted, trying to see in the dim light. The bluish glow was changing the color of his fingers… making them look red… Remus gasped. Blood. On his fingers. A low moan stumbled through his caked lips. “No…” he muttered. After all these years of careful containment in the Shack, his werewolf self had found a victim. He struggled to his feet and lurched towards the door. Perhaps whoever it was survived…
His feet connected with a large hump in the middle of the floor. Already disoriented, Remus fell to his knees. Remus closed his eyes tightly, not wanting to see. He recognized the dark fur that his hands were feeling. ‘He might need your help,’ the little voice inside his head was saying. Remus forced his eyes open and stood on his shaking legs. He reached behind a nearby, familiar rock. He always hid his wand close by when he transformed. He grabbed the familiar wood and pointed it at his friend. “Lu- lumos!” he shouted, louder than he had intended to. In spite of himself, Remus gasped. A large, jagged gash had been cut into the large dog’s flank. Remus knew deep in his stomach that he had been the cause. He closed his eyes and tried to recall what he had read about Animagus transformations. ‘To make an Animagus change back, oh what was the spell… he can’t go to the hospital wing like this…the Restoring Spell!’ His eyes snapped open, and he trained his wand on Sirius. With a flash of blue light, his friend lay before him, once again in human form.
The bleeding wound was now running down the side of his upper leg, ending just before the knee. Remus grimaced and muttered, “Wingardium Leviosa,” and slowly started the journey back out to the castle.
~
Snape bent over, panting. “What were you trying to pull, Potter?! Is this your idea of fun? Yes, let’s put Snape down a secret passage and see what he does when he meets a real, live werewolf!”
James glared at him. “In case you haven’t noticed, Snape, I was down there with you, trying to save your neck!”
“Only because you were the one that put it in danger! Did you chicken out at the last minute, and decide that it wasn’t worth getting expelled for? Because that’s what will happen, if I have anything to say about it.”
“In case you’ve forgotten, Snape, I was the one who tried to STOP you from going down there!”
Snape continued on, pretending not to hear James. “And I’ll bet that YOU were the one who told me to go down there in the first place!”
“I- what?” James looked confused, then angry. “Who told you to go down there?”
“That stupid note you wrote, Potter. Remember? ‘If you want to know where Lupin goes every month just press the largest knot on the Whomping Willow before dawn on Sunday.’”
James felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. Someone found out about Remus being a werewolf? This meant that somebody must have been watching them… or was that why Sirius had hesitated to defend Snape? Was he the one that lured Snape, defenseless, down the tunnel?
Then, a sharp stinging ran across his leg. James looked over his shoulder, and , yet again, froze. He and Snape had been arguing at the entrance to the tunnel for too long; the freezing spell on the Willow had worn off. He turned back to warn Snape… and got swept off his feet. This time, something really did punch him in the stomach. A large, knotted branch carried him a few feet until he slid down. He lay on the ground dazed, trying to clear his head. He drew a shaky breath, and saw another branch hissing down at him. He hurriedly tried to roll away, but the morning dew made the ground slippery and he didn’t make it all the way. He felt the wood connect with his leg, and gasped at the immense pain. His eyes watered, and he bit his lip to keep from screaming. Unfortunately, his teeth bit right into it, and James could feel the blood trickling down his chin. He twisted his neck to the side, and saw yet another branch coming for him. He closed his eyes and braced for impact.
~
Peter sat behind the tree, huddled in his rat form. He had been ready to turn back into a human when Snape had appeared. Afraid that he would be seen, he quickly hid. ‘This is not good!’ he thought frantically.
~
Remus poked his head through the hole at the end of the tunnel. No one was in sight, but the Willow was still swinging around. Remus reached through the hole and slammed his hand down on the familiar knot. He knew he had to get Sirius to the Hospital Wing, and fast. He floated Sirius in front of him and stepped into the light of the rising sun.
The grounds were slightly illuminated, but all Remus could see were dark blurs. A dark blur for the castle, a dark blur for the tree, a dark blur under the tree… He stared at the figure under the tree. It was in the shape of a human… Remus paled. Had he attacked two students last night? Moving Sirius out of the tree’s range (it would be unfrozen soon), he moved over to the boy. He as lying on his back, unconscious. Remus rolled him over and let out a low moan. “Please, Merlin, no…” It was James. Remus forced himself to look down at the bleeding leg and started. Yes, it was crushed, but the wound hadn’t been caused by an animal. Strangely, Remus took comfort in this. He reached down and fished through James’s pockets, until he found what he was looking for. A wand. He smiled in triumph, and Levitated the second boy as well. Using his own wand he steered Sirius. Moving slowly with two wands pointed at his friends, Remus made his way to the castle.
~
Back behind the tree, Peter ordered himself to stop shaking. It didn’t work. He had seen the Willow bend backwards to hit James, but hadn’t been able to do anything about it. And then, Once James was down, he saw the deadly blow ready to fall. Unknowingly, Remus had frozen the tree just seconds before James would have been injured beyond repair. But when Snape had seen that someone else was coming through the passage, he fled in fear with only a few minor scratches. The coward, Peter thought.
He reached for his wand, which was camouflaged at the base of the tree, and changed back into his normal self. He was about to lean back and take a few deep breaths- it had been a stressful night- but he felt the tree shudder under his hand. With a small squeak, Peter sprinted clumsily back up to the castle.
~
Author’s Notes:
Well, I only have to say I’M SORRY!!!!!!!!! I thought this chapter would flow easier, but it didn’t, and I’ve had a lot of work to do for school when I planned to write. However, this was a bit longer than other chapters. Thanks for waiting it out!!