-1Sirius heaved a heavy sigh, his head rested in his hand, elbow propping him up as he slouched across the Gryffindor Table in the Great Hall, flicking at the wood impatiently with the end of his fork. The full moon shone above the castle. He was waiting for James and Peter so they could go and meet Remus, James had said that he needed to go and check the time of Quidditch practice this week and Peter had went with him, leaving him alone waiting for them. The Great Hall was near empty, with the exception of a couple kissing at the far end of the table, he was the only Gryffindor. The tables of the other houses were no more full, consisting of a few students who had arrived late for dinner. If it hadn't of been for the little amount of people he probably wouldn't have noticed that Severus Snape was glaring at him. Sirius returned the glare, wanting nothing more than to go over there and punch him in the face.

The previous day James and Sirius had found themselves in detention after Snape had told on them. Snape telling teachers of the wrong doing of the marauders was a common occurrence which infuriated Sirius, but last nights detention had been a one that they truthfully did not deserve. They had been passing through the entrance hall, after a visit to the Quidditch pitch when they saw two Slytherin first years duelling at the foot of the stairs, with a few others, including Snape. Sirius had said to just leave them to get on with it, but James had, unusually, disagreed with him and said they should stop them before they killed each other. No more than five minutes had passed since the decision to stop them and they were heading off to the Gryffindor common room. The evening passed normally until Professor Slughorn walked into the common room and approached them, informing them that taking bets on the outcome of a duel between two students was not only irresponsible but potentially dangerous and their behaviour had earned them detention, cleaning the trophy room the next day. Naturally, Sirius and James had argued against this, attempting to explain the true account of what had happened but this only earned them an extra hour to their sentence. It didn't take long for them to realise what had happened and who had set them up and now, in the Great Hall, Sirius was fuming, just by the sight of Snape.

In a sudden motion Snape had gotten to his feet and was approaching the Gryffindor Table. He walked over, resembling, as usual a spider, and stopped right beside Sirius, his oily black hair hanging bleakly over his face.

"Enjoy polishing the trophies yesterday Black?" He said. Sirius sighed and still leaning on the table replied.
"Yeah, actually, I got to remember all the times James and I have gotten awards and see the lack of awards you have." Snape looked momentarily shocked, before the familiar expression of hate returned, a smile spread across his face.
"Where are your friends Black?" He asked, his smile widening. Sirius twisted his own face. The sight of Snape seemed unnatural, twisted. "Well?"

"Oh you were talking?" Sirius said, shaking his head, "You're face distracted me."

Snape's smile did not fade, which made Sirius wonder, Snape always made out like he knew things about them, make them concerned that he would go tattle tale, they never usually paid attention. But this enquiry and Snape's smile had become quite regular, which worried Sirius slightly. Did he really know anything?

"So? Where are they Black?" Snape said, "I've just seen Potter and Pettigrew, but I haven't seen Lupin all night, where is he?"

"Avoiding you." Sirius replied, now looking back at the table, sick of looking at Snape's face.

"Strange." Snape continued, his smile still there, "I didn't see him at dinner either."
"Why were you looking for him anyway?" Sirius said, "Stalker."
"I've noticed that you seem to be without him regularly." Snape said, "Often has little disappearances."
Sirius ignored him and looked at the door of the Great Hall for James and Peter.
"I was curious as to whether he was sneaking off to somewhere he shouldn't be." Snape continued. In that moment, all the hatred Sirius had for Snape welled up and something clicked inside him. He had the opportunity to get rid of Snape, to teach him a lesson, to not bother them and try and get them in trouble all of the time. With a grin he spoke.
"Well yeah, we all go somewhere we shouldn't.." He clapped a hand over his mouth as though he regretted saying it. Snape's eyes lit up.
"All four of you?" Snape pressed.
"Yeah, but it's something you couldn't do." Sirius said.
"How do you know I couldn't do it?" Snape said.
"Because it's dangerous." Sirius shrugged, looking back around at Snape.

"I could do it if I knew what it was." Snape said.
"You reckon, do you?" Sirius challenged him.
"Yes, I know I could." Snape said, accepting his challenge. Sirius looked for a moment as though he were going to reveal all and then shook his head.
"Nah, you couldn't do it, you'd chicken out." He said, looking back down at the table and grinning.

"Try me." Snape said simply.
"Alright then." Sirius said, turning back around. "Every once in a blue moon, we get bored, this castle isn't enough for us, we need some better entertainment."
"And how do you get this?" Snape asked eagerly.
"Well, you know the whomping willow, right?" Sirius said.

"Yes." Snape replied sharply.
"Well, there's a knot on the trunk." Sirius said, Snape nodded his head eagerly. Sirius sighed and scratched the back of his head.

"I don't know whether you will be able to do this. Nah, I don't think you will." He announced.
"I will." Snape said, "Just tell me." Sirius looked at him as though debating with himself whether to continue speaking. After a short pause he spoke.
"If you get a stick, a long one that will reach the knot and press it with the stick. The tree will freeze." Sirius said, Snape's eyes widened as Sirius continued. "Once it's frozen you can walk to the trunk and you'll see an entrance, like a big rabbit hole. If you follow if down it leads to a passageway and following that you get the Shrieking Shack, you've heard of that right?"

"Of course I have Black." Snape spat,

"Yeah, well that's where we go, there are some pretty angry spirits there." Sirius said, "Some pretty dangerous stuff."
"And that's what you do?" Snape asked eagerly.
"Yep." Sirius said, "But like I said, it's dangerous and you probably couldn't do it."
"I don't believe you're telling me the truth." Snape spat.
"Fine, believe what you want." Sirius shrugged. Snape stared at Sirius.
"We'll see if you're telling the truth." He said, now sneering. "But if you are, I hope no teachers find out, I wouldn't want you to get into trouble."
"Oh don't worry about us." Sirius said, "We won't be getting into any trouble." Snape left without another word. Sirius watched him leave the great hall and then through the open doors saw him leave the castle and head out into the grounds. He grinned to himself thinking of what would await Snape when he reached the end of the passageway.

Snape rushed out of the castle doors and bounded over the stretch of wet grass to the outskirts of the castle, where the Whomping Willow thrust its branches threateningly. He looked over his shoulder and around the area, but it was deserted, most students having retired to their common rooms or to their dorms. Squinting, he stared at the tree trunk from a safe distance, circling it for the notch Black had told him about. He was not sure what to expect but quite certain Black was lying. If they really did do something like this, surely he, Black, would not tell him. Surely Black would have known that Severus would immediately tell a teacher that this is what they did. Suddenly, he spotted something, a rounded notch near the base of the trunk. With a surge of excitement and curiosity, Severus looked around and was thrilled to immediately locate a stick that looked sturdy and long enough to safely reach the notch. This must have been his lucky day. Grabbing the stick he directed it to the tree, and holding it steady, reached the notch and pressed the stick against it. Instantly the trees branches froze. It seemed almost unnatural to see this tree as most others, still and peaceful. But he did not stop to think about this, quickly he shot forwards to the trunk of the tree, where he found an obvious entrance, a sort of enlarged rabbit hole. Grinning, he lowered himself carefully through the hole, clambering to find support in the darkness he gripped the wall and made his way down the steep tunnel that followed.