(Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters, places, things, or whatever else happens to be in those books that I use. –Sigh- These things so annoy me. Now stop reading this stupid disclaimer and read the fic! Jeez…)
The early light of the moon danced lazily over the hectic brush of the forest, and the wind stirred the creaking branches of the monstrous trees that stood side by side, their limbs outstretched and tangled together. The wind and the light of the moon helped make the chilling, eerie atmosphere that always seemed to surround the forest even more foreboding, almost as if all of nature knew that it needed to scare off trespassers tonight. But three trespassers where too brazen to be scared off by howling wind and creaking trees, and the forest seemed to calm as they passed, knowing it was no use trying to scare them. The forest knew them and they knew the forest.
The wind either did not know them or did not care for them, for it trailed slowly behind them, waiting to pounce on them with its frigid hands, filling their bodies with hollow iciness. Suddenly it struck, howling violently, causing all three of the trespassing boys to shiver and pull their cloaks tighter around themselves.
"Merlin it's cold!" exclaimed one of the boys. He was tall, with jet black hair, pale skin and dark eyes. His face seemed to belong to a marble sculpture, for it was almost perfectly proportioned, except for the small bump on his nose from when he had broken it in a fight years earlier.
"Don't worry," said another, "We'll be warmer when we change later." This boy had mess of black hair that sat chaotically on his head and oval glasses perched haphazardly on his nose.
"Yes," the first boy said, smiling, "We're always warmer when we change. Those animals are lucky to have fur all the time."
"It's getting cold earlier this year," a third boy added quietly, "It's only November and it feels cold enough to snow." The boy was small and plump, his short legs struggling to keep up with the long strides of the taller boys. He had small, beady eyes and uncharacteristic mousy brown hair.
"It's not that cold," the first boy said offhandedly, "Don't exaggerate."
The wind, almost indignant that the boy did not find it cold enough, howled wilder than before, causing the trees to scrape shrilly against each other. The small boy whimpered in fear.
"Come on," the first boy said again, "How many times do we come here and you still are afraid of the forest. It isn't going to bite you."
"Well I… I…" The small boy struggled frantically to come up with something in his defense.
"Come on," the boy with the glasses said with a hint of worry in his voice, "The moon's already out. I don't want to leave him alone for long."
The dark-haired boy nodded and walked quickly behind him. The small boy huffed behind, trying to keep up.
Soon, the boys reached a clearing and gazed in front of them calmly. An enormous gnarled tree with thick bone-like branches stood in front of them. Something by the foot of the tree stirred and suddenly it sprung into violent action, spinning its thick branches in all directions, disrupting the eerie calm of the night. Though it looked as if the vicious tree was unruly enough to knock a horde of giants out cold, the boys did not move or panic in anyway.
"What do you suppose it was that moved?" asked the dark-haired boy.
"Dunno," answered the bespectacled one, "Probably a stupid animal or a leaf in the wind or something."
The boy he was speaking to shrugged. "C'mon Wormtail," he called suddenly, turning to the small boy, "We haven't got all day."
The small boy nodded and closed his eyes. Suddenly, he began to shrink until he was no bigger than a child's shoe and no longer than a pencil. He sprouted fur, a tail, and whiskers, and soon a fat garden rat was left in his place. The other boys just looked at him blandly as if they had seen boys turn into rats everyday of their lives. "He's slow," muttered one of the boys, pushing his glasses up with his finger, "I never have to close my eyes." The other boy laughed and continued to watch the rat in the grass. The rat seemed to squeak at them before scurrying over to the tree and touching its base with a miniscule paw. Suddenly, the tree was frozen in air.
The two boys left in the clearing took this as their cue to move. The rat slid into a hole at the base of the tree, disappearing from view. The boys ran to the tree and stood before the hole, which was big enough for perhaps an animal to fit through, but a person would have to slide through on their stomachs.
"See ya on the other side Prongs," said the dark-haired boy, winking. Suddenly the boy disappeared and a large, black dog stood in his place. The dog barked happily before slipping through the hole.
The boy left behind sighed and lay indignantly on his stomach, inching slowly through the hole. He slid down a muddy slope and landed uncomfortably in a dank, cramped tunnel. He crawled through and the earthy walls seemed to close in around him, reminding him of his slight claustrophobia. "Damn Sirius and Peter," he thought, "It's as easy as hell for them to get through. Couldn't fit through this hole even if I changed." Finally he reached the end of the tunnel and climbed out, finding himself in a small, musty room. The room and the structure it belonged to were decrepit; it seemed as if a strong wind would knock it over in seconds. The wallpaper was torn, hanging of the wall in grimy ribbons. The few pieces of furniture in the room looked as if it would fall apart if anything even touched it and pieces of scattered wood lay on the floor. "Sirius, Peter," the boy called into the room, "Where are you?"
Suddenly a large dog, which seemed to appear out of nowhere, bounded into the room, jumping on the boy and knocking him to the ground.
"Ah, Merlin Sirius! Get off me," the boy exclaimed, his fingers feeling around for his glasses which had unceremoniously been knocked off his face.
The dog climbed off of the boy quickly, almost as if he understood English, and nudged the missing glasses closer to the boy's fumbling hands.
"Thanks Padfoot," he said, placing them carefully on his nose. The boy stood up and in an instant, grew taller and wider, until a lithe stag stood in his place.
The stag nudged towards the hallway and the dog seemed to nod. The rat that had paralyzed the tree scurried into the room quickly, pausing at the two other animals, seeming slightly fatigued. The stag nodded again and then proceeded into the hallway where the rat had come from. The dog followed closely behind. The rat frantically followed them, afraid of being left behind. The animals walked cautiously down the hallway, their heads turning to peer into every room along it as if looking for something. When they reached the end of the hallway, the dog and stag exchanged worried looks and made their way up the staircase, the rat following close behind. The animals checked the few rooms upstairs but still did not find what they were looking for. They wandered back into a room upstairs that appeared as if it had once been a bedroom. The animals stopped in the middle of the room. The dog looked carefully around the room and then nodded, as if to say the coast was clear. The dog disappeared then and the dark-haired boy took his place. The stag and the rat disappeared too, replaced by their respective boys. The rat-boy looked nervously around the room, as if not trusting the dark-haired boy's claim that everything was safe.
"What's happened?" the boy that was once a stag said nervously, "You don't think he's gone out, do you?"
"Dunno," the former dog said cautiously, "But we have to find him before something happens."
"You don't think he's on his way back to Hogwarts, do you?" asked the small boy with agitation.
"I don't think he could get past the tree," muttered the boy with the glasses.
"He might not care about getting hit now," the dark-haired boy mumbled despondently, "He isn't really capable of thinking too clearly."
"Well c'mon then, we have to go look for him."
"Alright, then, let's go."
"Wait!" cried the small boy suddenly, "Shouldn't we check the whole house again, in case we missed him?"
"How could we miss him?" the dark-haired boy snapped critically, "It isn't as if he's hiding."
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt," the other boy said carefully, "Something else might have happened to him. He could be hurt somewhere."
The dark-haired boy sighed and shrugged. "Whatever, but we should hurry. If he really left, he might have hurt someone by now." The boy turned back into a dog, and strode impatiently to the doorway. His friends changed into their animals as well and followed him.
Nervousness and fear hung heavily in the air as they slipped into the upstairs hallway to once again search for what eluded them. They walked slowly, keeping close together, peering carefully into moonlit rooms, afraid that something would jump out at them. When they were through with the top floor, the animals softly slipped down the staircase and onto the ground floor, which, if possible, was every darker than upstairs. Their anxiousness increased rapidly with every room they checked; if it was not here, it would have gotten lose. The end of the hallway snuck up on them and with heightened uneasiness, they looked into the last room.
Nothing.
In the darkness splattered with specks of moonlight, the animals became humans once again.
"Let's hurry," one boy said, straightening himself from being on all fours, "You don't know how long he's been out." As he often did when he was nervous, he ran his hands through his already messed up hair.
"I hope he's alright," stuttered the small boy.
"I hope everyone else is alright," interrupted the dark-haired boy gloomily, "But let's not sit here. We have to find him."
The boys walked quietly out of the room, distantly hearing a shrill howl of the wind outside. Something seemed to flap noisily against the wall right beside them. They turned quickly to see a sliver of moonlight that disappeared as suddenly as they saw it.
"Looks like there's another room in there," whispered the small boy.
"Strange," said the dark-haired boy, "That was always just a wall."
"Maybe Remus is in there," said the other boy hopefully. He began to rush in quickly, but the dark-haired boy held him back.
"Are you mad? If he is in there, it isn't safe for you to go in like that."
"There has to be something wrong with him," the boy responded, not making any indication that he had heard him, "If he's in there he would have heard us when we came by and come out."
"Especially now that we're humans again," the little boy squeaked.
Ignoring him, both boys proceeded to become animals again. Nervously the other boy followed suit. Together they entered the room, not knowing what exactly they would find in the room, but all wishing it would be what they were looking for.