"Come on, it's been an hour since sundown," Sirius said to James and Peter. Remus had been smuggled away earlier that day to Hogsmeade already, guarded by Professor Dumbledore, in secret. The full moon shone bright in the night sky, drowning out the stars. A few clouds hovered on the horizon, but the night was beautiful. A perfect night for adventure. "The moon's out. I want adventure!"
"A little longer, just to be safe," James said, sweeping his fingers through his ruffled, messy hair. He had come from a quidditch practice, and he thought the team would probably win during the next match - Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw. Gryffindor was already ahead, so even if they lost they wouldn't be out of the running. But they wouldn't lose. Ravenclaw's Seeker was a boy by the name of Malcolm Grady, and while he was smart in books, he was an idiot on a broomstick. James wondered how he managed to make the team. Then again, Ravenclaw hadn't had a good team in years.
Peter sat next to them, sniffling. He had been battling a cold the past few weeks (still). James did not want it. It wouldn't do to be sniffing and blowing his nose in potions, especially since Lily was there. James did not want to look bad in front of Lily at all.
"Come on!" Sirius said.
"Ok," James said. "Let's go."
The three friends emerged from their hiding spot near the greenhouses and stripped. They threw their clothes in a pile under a few pieces of wood, to be gathered when the adventure that night was over.
Peter transformed into a rat, spiraling down until he was a dark brown shape in the grass. Sirius bounded forward, landing on his black paws, suddenly a hulking, bear-like dog. James jumped forward, felt his arms become more muscled, his nose lengthen into a snout, his legs forming into powerful hind legs. Emerged from behind the greenhouses came a dog, a rat, and a stag, no longer Sirius, Peter and James, but Padfoot, Wormtail and Prongs.
Prong's thoughts were suddenly less formed, more pictures than words. Quidditch flew out of his mind. The three of them dashed across the lawn to the giant Whomping Willow, a great tree that guarded the secret passage to Moony. Wormtail darted through the whipping branches of the tree and pressed the secret knot, freezing it. The three of them darted into the tunnel, Padfoot sniffing and panting. His wagging tail whipped Prongs in the side and Prongs lashed out with his teeth back, nipping Padfoot on the side. Padfoot growled playfully. Wormtail let out a squeak, jumping onto Padfoot's massive back, and the three of them were off, bounding through the tunnel.
Before long howls started to echo through the tunnel, then whimpering and scratching as they got closer. At the entrance of the tunnel Moony suddenly appeared, a scraggly, wolf with blood red, bulging eyes and sharp, dripping fangs. But as soon as Padfoot sniffed him, Moony relaxed, playfully swinging a paw at Padfoot. Padfoot nipped him back.
Prongs let out a snort, and the four of them leapt down out of the tunnel, racing back through. They dodged the willow's branches and raced off into the Forbidden Forest, as previously discussed.
The trees, terrifying during the day, hiding whatever horrors lay in the forest, suddenly became friendly. Bowtruckles and fairies darted out of their hiding spaces to watch the fun as Moony and Padfoot chased each other, their barks and snuffles echoing through the forest. Nobody was up, everyone asleep. The forest was theirs.
Gnomes emerged and ran through Prong's feet as they raced deeper into the forest, long past where students hid before. Howls and barks echoed through the forest, no doubt awakening other, less friendly creatures. But the group had big enough animals to defend themselves from them. Centaurs never came out and bothered them, and other things...well, if they appeared they would have to deal with a werewolf.
Suddenly something wasn't right. Prongs stiffened, Wormtail, riding on his back, squeaked. Prongs followed the trail of Padfoot and Moony, crashing on ahead. The crashing ceased. Padfoot was absolutely still, his hair standing on end. Moony was frozen, his eyes staring, lips drawn back in a silent snarl.
Hagrid, the gamekeeper, was ahead. He was harvesting a plant, and was whistling through his teeth. He hadn't noticed them yet, nor even the werewolf longing to sink his teeth into his flesh.
Hagrid tied up his plants and placed them in a basket and turned around. The note he was holding suddenly turned sour. To say Hagrid was tall would be an understatement, but he seemed to shrink in the night as Moony stood up and howled to the moon, a gut-piercing noise that seemed to make ears bleed.
And then everything happened all at once. Moony lept forward to attack Hagrid, who shrank back against a tree. Padfoot sprang towards Moony, his claws sinking into the wolf's back as they rolled over each other, crashing through the undergrowth. Birds shrieked in the trees.
Prongs darted forward, heaving himself at Moony, charging his great antlers into the wolf's side. Moony let out a whine as Padfoot bit him in the side. Prongs turned to Hagrid and charged him. Hagrid sprinted out of the forest. Moony and Padfoot were still fighting on the ground.
Prongs raced over, kicking Moony on the side, driving his hind legs into the werewolf. Moony scratched Padfoot and bit Prong's side. Prongs let out a scream, enough to curl blood, certainly enough to cause the birds to take off with a racket. He fell to his side.
Moony suddenly pulled back, almost as if he was aware of what he had done. Prongs' tongue was out, laying on the ground. Padfoot licked the wound on his hindquarters, but to no avail. He sat down next to Prongs and put his head on Prongs' side. Moony laid on the ground and let out a whimper. Wormtail crawled over and nuzzled Prongs' ear.
And then there was light. A creature so dazzling that it blinded the four animals. Moony scuffled away back to the darkness. Padfoot shied. Prongs tried to stand, but he was too weak, and collapsed again.
The light faded. A great unicorn had stepped into the clearing and surveyed the four animals on the ground. Prongs lowered his head next to the creature. The unicorn took a few steps forward, seeing Prongs' wound. She let out a knicker, touching her horn to the wound. The unicorn turned and bit her side, enough to draw silvery blood. She licked her own wound, and then licked Prongs wound, rubbing her own blood into Prongs' side.
The unicorn stood. Prongs craned his neck and saw the wound had healed. He bent down next to the unicorn and stood. The unicorn darted off into the trees without a sound, silently bounding into the forest.
And the four animals looked up. Dawn was almost upon them. They raced back into the willow tree, back through the tunnels, and up into the shack as light broke the horizon. The moon set, and Moony collapsed on the ground with a whimper. Remus rose in his place, stark naked.
Prongs, Padfoot and Wormtail spiraled out of their animal forms, and James, Sirius and Peter appeared. James senses were suddenly cleared as though he had focused through a magnifying lense. Colors suddenly appeared clear again, and his thoughts sharpened from loose images to words and pictures.
"That was too close for comfort," Remus said.
James looked at his side. No wound appeared. He ran his fingers over his side. He remembered quite clearly the pain of the bite, the blood running down his side, the thought that he might actually die in the forest that month. "It was weird. And interesting. And cool," he said, shaking it off. In hindsight, it was the capstone to an excellent adventure.
"I can't wait for next month," Sirius said, rubbing his hands together and grinning. The four friends burst into laughter, and the danger of the night floated away.