The silvery invisibility cloak fluttered to the floor, revealing four eighteen year old boys. James Potter stepped forward and knocked lightly on the cabin door.
It swung open and Hagrid's friendly face peered out at them. "James, Peter, Sirius, Remus! I'm so glad that yer came ter see me today. There's something that I want to show yer."
"Uh ho... I hope that it isn't another one of his animals," James muttered to Sirius out of the corner of his mouth.
Sirius snickered, and relayed the message to Peter and Remus, who glanced inside the door nervously before entering.
Hagrid strode across the room and reached into a wooden crate sitting on the floor. He reached inside, and pulled out a small ball of black fur, and set it onto the ground in front of the boys.
They just stared at it. "What is it?" Remus finally ventured to ask.
"He is a boarhound. Jus' a baby, he's so small. I think that I'll call him Fang."
The ball of black fur turned its' head towards Hagrid's voice. The gamekeeper's black eyes twinkled with joy. "Yeah," Sirius muttered. "He's so small." Although the boarhound puppy wasn't very big, he was much larger than any regular sized dog.
Fang looked from Hagrid to the students, and then back to Hagrid; he took off at a run towards Sirius, large paws thumping on the hardwood floor.
Sirius chuckled softly and knelt down to scratch the dog's ears. "He's cute."
Hagrid beamed and motioned for the other boys to have a look-see.
As James sat down, the boarhound leapt into his lap and began licking his face, leaving his glasses askew and his messy black hair sticking straight up.
"Hmmm... Doggy breath," Remus chuckled, sliding to the ground beside James.
"So, yer boys like him?" Hagrid beamed at his newest acquisition.
James pulled his glasses off and began wiping them clean on his robes. "Oh yes, Hagrid. He's excellent."
Peter eased to the floor and started softly stroking the dog's fur. "How beg is he going to get, exactly?" he asked a bit uneasily.
Hagrid shrugged. "Well, we'll just have ter wait and see."
Peter chuckled nervously and glanced down at his watch. "Shouldn't we head back now? It's almost time for supper."
Remus Sirius and James reluctantly stood up, still playing with Fang. They finally shrugged back under the cloak and headed back towards the door, with Fang nipping playfully at their heels.
"Bye Hagrid. We'll come back later," James called over his invisible shoulder.
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The Great Hall was bustling with the noise of cheerful mealtime chatter. Peter, James, Sirius and Remus maneuvered towards a row of empty seats at the Griffindor table.
"James Potter! Have you been sneaking out again?" Another Griffindor girl with longish hair had noticed a sliver of silver cloth swishing under James' robes, and she was now slowly pulling it out into view.
"Hello, Lily," James said, turning slightly pink. "This? This is just... we were..." he stuttered.
Lily smiled and handed him the invisibility cloak back. She rose up slightly on the balls of her feet and kissed him on the cheek. "I know."
Sirius and Remus snickered as James turned an even deeper shade of red.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" A tall, slender boy with greasy black hair and beady dark eyes strode up behind the quintet. He arched an eyebrow at James. "You know, Lily. You really should get out of your House more."
James smirked. "You know, Severus? If you actually got your head out of Moaning myrtle's toilet more, it would greatly improve your appearance."
Sirius and Remus burst into laughter and slapped a high five.
Severus opened his mouth to say something but o words came out. He looked as though he were too angry to speak. With one last hostile grunt, he turned on heel and stalked back to the Slytherin table, visibly shaking with fury.
"That was a good one, James." Sirius nudged his friend's side.
"Someone should really put him in his place," Peter muttered almost inaudibly.
"You boys!" Lily flustered. "Must you always pick fights wherever you go?"
"I wasn't picking a fight," James replied defensively. "I was protecting the honor of my lady!" He pulled Lily into his lap, thrusting a butter knife into the air with his free hand.
Sirius and Remus exchanged an expression. "You're turning into Sir Cadogan," Remus sputtered.
James picked up a roll and flung it across the table into Remus' face. "You dare to insult me?"
Remus was laughing so hard that his return fire veered off course and smacked Sirius in the ear.
"Oi! What's the meaning of this?" He fished the roll out of his lap and chucked it back at Remus, who ducked.
Sirius had put such force behind the roll that it kept going past Remus and sailed right into Dumbledore's bowl of watercress soup.
The headmaster blinked for a moment, his face and robes dripping with soup. His sparkling eyes began to twinkle as he twitched is nose to rid his mustache of the liquid. He pulled the soggy roll out of the bowl and sat it in an empty platter.
He cleared his throat. "James, Sirius, Peter and Remus? Will you come here please?"
Dumbledore slowly stood and pointed his wand at his robes, which magically seemed to dry automatically. He led the boys out of the Great Hall and down a long corridor; he stopped in front of the gargoyle statue. "Cherry swizzelsticks," he muttered, and the gargoyle swung open. Dumbledore led the mischief-makers into his office.
The headmaster swooshed in behind his desk and placed his hands in front of him. The corners of his eyes began to shimmer; he was laughing.
Remus, Sirius and James had slightly guilty expressions on their faces; Peter looked as though he were about to faint.
Dumbledore stifled his laughter and tried to look stern. "I would like you boys to now that I am highly disappointed."
Sirius saw the corners of James' mouth twitching out of the corner of his eye. Any one of them would burst out laughing at any moment.
Dumbledore twitched his nose again. "Hagrid has just acquired a new... ahem... specimen. He's asked that the next detentionees be sent to help him. You will report to him at nine sharp tonight."
A wide grin spread across James' face. "Yes sir!"
"Now I know that I'm being harsh, but I'm sure that you boys can handle it." The headmaster had almost cracked a smile also.
James leaned over and rested his arm on Remus' shoulder. "We're sorry. It'll never happen again."
Fawkes the phoenix cooed from his perch in the corner as Sirius stroked its' feathers.
Dumbledore chuckled again. "You are dismissed."
They were filing out the door, when the headmaster spoke again. "If I could see you for a moment, Mr. Lupin?"
Sirius, James and peter nodded to Remus and paraded down the stairs.
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Outside the gargoyle they waited for Lupin.
"I'll bet that it's about the moon tomorrow," James whispered.
Sirius started to answer, but the sound of oncoming footsteps hushed him.
Severus Snape swished into view with a particularly smug grimace on his face, which tightened into a frown when he spotted Sirius, James and Peter. "Spying outside the headmasters office now? What will Professor Dumbledore think?"
James began a snide remark, but another set of footsteps echoed through the hall. A young teacher appeared; the tight bun that her dark hair was wrapped up in was falling down, and loose strands of hair were hanging around her face. He glasses were sliding down on her nose, and her robes were twisted this way and that. She was carrying an armload of books, almost dropping half of them, and she looked extremely tired.
Severus straightened his robes and walked away, turning around once to smirk at Sirius and James.
The rushing teacher stopped abruptly in front of the gargoyle; she looked at the boys and then back at the gargoyle. "He's with someone?" she murmured.
James nodded. "Yes, Professor McGonagall. He's with Remus Lupin."
McGonagall smiled. "You four... That was quite a stunt at dinner," she mused.
James grinned. He pulled his wand out of his robes and struck a pose. "Mischief is my middle name, my lady."
"Somehow I don't doubt that," McGonagall remarked. "Heaven help us should you have any children."
James' grin widened.
"You know, Potter? That was an almost perfect impression of that crazy night in the painting up stairs."
James snorted. "Was not."
The gargoyle swung open, and Remus stepped out. He nodded to his comrades and then to Professor McGonagall.
Dumbledore motioned for Professor McGonagall to come into his office, while James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus made their way back to Griffindor tower.
"Damn Snape!" Peter burst out. "Someone should really put him in his place."
A malicious grin spread over Sirius' face.
"Uh oh... what are you thinking?" James asked.
Sirius shook his head. "Nothing..." he mumbled. "I was just thinking."
The large portrait of the fat lady loomed ahead. "Oddsbotikins," Peter called.
Remus glanced at his watch. "You know, we should probably just head on down to Hagrid's. It's eight forty-two now."
James and Sirius exchanged a look, and started to head back downstairs. The fat lady swung closed with a loud thud. "Well, I never...!" she screamed. "If you boys think that I'm going to swing open and shut all night for you, you've got another think coming."
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The walk to Hagrid's was a quick one, considering the slight chill in the night air.
The boys found the gamekeeper behind is cabin, tethering an abnormal creature to a pole.
"What is that?" James sputtered.
"That," Hagrid replied proudly, "is a Griffodrake."
Remus blinked. The creature tethered to the pole halfway resembled a dragon. It had large furry hind paws with a long fuzzy tail, but scaled talons in the front. Its' head was long and narrow, covered with purplish scales, and ended in a blunt nose. Its' eyes were a golden red, and a silver spiked ridge ran along it's neck.
"He's kind of cute," James said. "What's his name?"
"Her name," Hagrid replied, "is Chrysanthemum."
"And what ate we supposed to do with her?"
Sirius hefted Fang into his arms. "Such a good boy, yes you are," he babbled.
Hagrid's eyes gleamed. "We're going ter give her a bath."
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When James, Sirius, Remus and Peter returned to the Griffindor tower three hours later, they were very thoroughly soaked and scratched up. "Wasn't that fun?" Sirius laughed on the way to his bunk.
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The owls swooped down during breakfast the next morning, as usual. A pudgy owl with a brownish stomach landed with a thud in front of Sirius. He shook his leg and Sirius pulled the small piece of parchment free.
"Hello, Euripides," Lily cooed, feeding the owl a strip of bacon.
Sirius howled at the parchment. He crumpled it up and chucked it at the bird, which flew away squawking angrily.
"What did it say?" asked Remus as he straightened out the piece of paper. "Feed me" was scrawled sloppily in large letters.
"It's cute," commented lily. "You should feed him. He is your pet."
"You should talk," Sirius grumbled. "You have a sweet little kitten, not a smart-ass owl."
"Yes, you are a sweet little thing, aren't you, Crookshanks?" Lily bent down and scooped a small ball of orange fur into her lap. The kitten turned its' head and mewed softly.
"Hey, Crooks. Want some bacon?" James pulled an uneaten strip from a platter ad dangled it in front of the cat's nose.
Crookshanks ate it thankfully.
"Oh Lily. I think that Severus is sweet on you," Remus said nonchalantly.
Severus sat with a group of Slytherins, staring off into space with a dreamy look on his face. He noticed the Griffindors and shot James a dirty look.
Sirius and Remus snickered.
"I don't think that your cat likes me very much, Lily." Peter broke the silence. He was offering the cat another strip of bacon, but Crookshanks was clawing at his hand and making strange yowling noises.
Lily smiled and scratched the kitten behind the ears. "I guess that he's just being crabby today."
Peter shrugged. "So, Mer. Moony," he said. "Are you ready for tonight?"
"Why certainly, Mr. Wormtail." Remus replied. "As long as Mr. Padfoot, and Mr. Prongs agree to make their appearance."
James smiled. "Mr. Padfoot and Mr. Prongs will indeed."
"Indeed," agreed Sirius.
Lily brushed a feather out of her hair, and leaned into James. "I just don't get you, sometimes," she muttered.
"Oi! We'd better go and get our books for Potions, " remarked Remus, standing up.
"Eh, we have Potions with the Slytherins this morning, don't we?" James groaned.
Sirius nodded. The seventh year Griffindors departed from the house table and headed for their first class.
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James pulled a lotus flower out of his pile of extras and handed it to Lily. She smiled and weaved it into her hair.
An awful smell filled the Potions classroom. Snape's cauldron was emitting a thick bluish smoke, and the Professor was trying to clam everyone down. He kept sprinkling a green powder into the cauldron and the smoke finally began to recede.
"Perhaps next time, Mr. Snape, you will take care to read the directions more carefully," the Professor gave him a stern look.
"At nutter can't do anything right," Remus muttered.
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The rest of the day's classes without the Slytherins passed rather quickly. Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall, History of Magic with Professor Binns, Spells with Professor Flitwick, and Herbology with Professor Sprout.
The Griffindors had their last class of the day, Divination, with the Slytherins though.
When all of the students had filed into the classroom, the Professor had instructed them to break off into pairs and start gazing into the preset crystal balls.
Lily sat down and began waving her hands over the ball that separated her from James in an attempt to make it look like he was working.
James extended his hands and closed them over hers, gazing into her eyes instead of the ball.
Severus was staring off into space again.
His partner, Sybill Trelawney, was becoming angry, and finally tapped him on the head to draw his attention back to their assignment. "Severus? Hello? I'm over here!"
James could hear Sirius and Remus snickering behind them.
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Dinner passed somewhat uneventfully, although Peter did attempt to flick a pea at the back of Severus' head.
When the meal ended, all the Griffindors headed back up to their tower, with the exception of two.
Sirius and Peter crept along the hallway outside the Slytherin house. Sirius pulled out a dirty piece of parchment and tapped it with his wand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he mumbled.
The parchment was suddenly covered with lines and dots, a moving map of the Hogwarts grounds.
A dot labeled Severus Snape was floating slowly towards the two dots labeled Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew.
"Are you sure that this isn't dangerous? I mean, we don't want Snape to get hurt," Sirius muttered to Peter.
"Don't be absurd," replied Peter. "He won't be able to get past the Whomping Willow. And besides, it would serve him right, always bugging James and Lily, and trying to find out what Lupin's secret was."
Sirius shrugged. "Well, lets get this over with."
They waited until Severus' footsteps were dangerously close, and then they began the pre-planned conversation.
"Poor Remus," said Sirius. "I do hope that he will be all right."
"He will be," answered Peter.
"We can go see him tonight, if you want."
"How?"
"All you have to do to get past the Whomping Willow is prod the know on the trees trunk with a long pole and the branches will stop moving. You can walk right up to the trap door in the trunk."
They walked around the corner smack into Severus. The look in his face told them that he had heard everything.
He made a face at them and disappeared into his common room.
Sirius slapped Peter an uneasy high five. He tapped the map with his wand. "Mischief managed." The dots and lines melted away, leaving only a blank piece of parchment.
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After entering the Griffindor common room, Sirius plopped down into an empty armchair by the fire. "Where did Remus go?" Peter leaned up against the nearest wall.
"He already went down with Madame Pomfrey. She said that he was supposed to come early tonight," James replied. He was in the middle of an intense game of chess with Lily; she was winning.
"Shall we go then?" he asked when Lily's queen took his king in checkmate.
James stood as stood as inconspicuously as possible and tucked the invisibility cloak into his robes.
Lily rose and kissed him lightly. "Don't do anything stupid, now," she ordered.
A wide grin spread across his face. "Who, me?"
"Awe, but being good is no fun," Sirius mused. "So tell me, James. You were letting her win, weren't you?"
James snorted. "No. She was whooping my tail quite thoroughly enough."
They made their way down to the Whomping Willow, neatly tucked under the invisibility cloak.
"Moon's almost out," muttered Peter. He glanced sidelong at Peter who was morphing into a large black Labrador.
James chuckled playfully. "An improvement in your appearance, Sirius."
The dog snorted disdainfully and nipped for a bit at his insulters heels, before morphing back into his human form.
"Oi! I was only messing!" James shouted. He paused. "Why is... the Willow not moving?"
The branches of the Willow had ceased their constant movement and were now still in the chilly twilight.
James saw a quick swish of black robes before the trapdoor shut and the tree whizzed back to life.
"Was that..."
"Snape!" Sirius and Peter took off at a run towards the tree with James close behind.
When they reached the outstretched limbs, Sirius and Peter paused to morph, but James kept going, straight into the violent fray.
He made it halfway to the trunk before suffering the first blow. A large limb slammed into his stomach, sending him flying. He jumped to his feet and started towards the trapdoor again.
James' hand grazed the small knot that would paralyze the tree, but another branch smacked into his face, leaving a large amount of blood steaming down the front of his robes.
"Ah! Dammit!!" he yelled, reaching for the knot again.
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Severus held a shaking hand over his left arm. Getting through the Whomping Willow had been a bit harder than he had expected, but he had done it.
Now as he pushed the trapdoor closed, he pulled out his wand and flicked it in the air. "Lumos."
The passage continued on for a ways, until finally Severus saw another door ahead of him.
The handle began to turn. Severus took a deep breath and extinguished his wand, backing into a dark corner in an attempt to hide.
"...do hope that he will be all right, the poor dear." Madame Pomfrey followed Dumbledore around the corner. They were heading back to towards the Whomping Willow.
Severus waited until he could no longer hear their footsteps before making his way to the door.
A large silver bar had been fastened over the door, obviously to prevent anyone inside from exiting.
Curiosity peeking, he reached for the door.
The room inside was a ransacked mess. Furniture was smashed and the walls had deep scratches in them.
Severus spotted Lupin. He was sitting in the middle of the room, facing the now open doorway.
When Remus looked up, Severus saw that his eyes were an un-human amber-yellow.
Lupin stared at Severus for a moment, and then bent over, moaning in pain.
Severus remained still for a moment and then took a step forward, with his hand outstretched. "Remus?"
Silvery fur rippled over Lupin's body as his screams of agony grew louder.
Severus glanced frantically at the door. When his gaze fell back onto Remus, a large seething wolf glared back at him.
Severus opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
The wolf threw his head up and howled, long and mournful. When the howl died, the wolf began to growl and slowly pawed its way toward the cowering human.
Severus felt arms around his waist, pulling him backwards out of the room and away from the snarling wolf; he didn't resist.
The wolf charged.
James threw Severus out of the room and slammed the door, locking it.
The wolf growled and hammered into the door with a loud thud, trying its' best to get out.
James backed away.
Severus lay sprawled on the ground, gulping air. "He's a... werewolf..." he gasped.
It swung open and Hagrid's friendly face peered out at them. "James, Peter, Sirius, Remus! I'm so glad that yer came ter see me today. There's something that I want to show yer."
"Uh ho... I hope that it isn't another one of his animals," James muttered to Sirius out of the corner of his mouth.
Sirius snickered, and relayed the message to Peter and Remus, who glanced inside the door nervously before entering.
Hagrid strode across the room and reached into a wooden crate sitting on the floor. He reached inside, and pulled out a small ball of black fur, and set it onto the ground in front of the boys.
They just stared at it. "What is it?" Remus finally ventured to ask.
"He is a boarhound. Jus' a baby, he's so small. I think that I'll call him Fang."
The ball of black fur turned its' head towards Hagrid's voice. The gamekeeper's black eyes twinkled with joy. "Yeah," Sirius muttered. "He's so small." Although the boarhound puppy wasn't very big, he was much larger than any regular sized dog.
Fang looked from Hagrid to the students, and then back to Hagrid; he took off at a run towards Sirius, large paws thumping on the hardwood floor.
Sirius chuckled softly and knelt down to scratch the dog's ears. "He's cute."
Hagrid beamed and motioned for the other boys to have a look-see.
As James sat down, the boarhound leapt into his lap and began licking his face, leaving his glasses askew and his messy black hair sticking straight up.
"Hmmm... Doggy breath," Remus chuckled, sliding to the ground beside James.
"So, yer boys like him?" Hagrid beamed at his newest acquisition.
James pulled his glasses off and began wiping them clean on his robes. "Oh yes, Hagrid. He's excellent."
Peter eased to the floor and started softly stroking the dog's fur. "How beg is he going to get, exactly?" he asked a bit uneasily.
Hagrid shrugged. "Well, we'll just have ter wait and see."
Peter chuckled nervously and glanced down at his watch. "Shouldn't we head back now? It's almost time for supper."
Remus Sirius and James reluctantly stood up, still playing with Fang. They finally shrugged back under the cloak and headed back towards the door, with Fang nipping playfully at their heels.
"Bye Hagrid. We'll come back later," James called over his invisible shoulder.
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The Great Hall was bustling with the noise of cheerful mealtime chatter. Peter, James, Sirius and Remus maneuvered towards a row of empty seats at the Griffindor table.
"James Potter! Have you been sneaking out again?" Another Griffindor girl with longish hair had noticed a sliver of silver cloth swishing under James' robes, and she was now slowly pulling it out into view.
"Hello, Lily," James said, turning slightly pink. "This? This is just... we were..." he stuttered.
Lily smiled and handed him the invisibility cloak back. She rose up slightly on the balls of her feet and kissed him on the cheek. "I know."
Sirius and Remus snickered as James turned an even deeper shade of red.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" A tall, slender boy with greasy black hair and beady dark eyes strode up behind the quintet. He arched an eyebrow at James. "You know, Lily. You really should get out of your House more."
James smirked. "You know, Severus? If you actually got your head out of Moaning myrtle's toilet more, it would greatly improve your appearance."
Sirius and Remus burst into laughter and slapped a high five.
Severus opened his mouth to say something but o words came out. He looked as though he were too angry to speak. With one last hostile grunt, he turned on heel and stalked back to the Slytherin table, visibly shaking with fury.
"That was a good one, James." Sirius nudged his friend's side.
"Someone should really put him in his place," Peter muttered almost inaudibly.
"You boys!" Lily flustered. "Must you always pick fights wherever you go?"
"I wasn't picking a fight," James replied defensively. "I was protecting the honor of my lady!" He pulled Lily into his lap, thrusting a butter knife into the air with his free hand.
Sirius and Remus exchanged an expression. "You're turning into Sir Cadogan," Remus sputtered.
James picked up a roll and flung it across the table into Remus' face. "You dare to insult me?"
Remus was laughing so hard that his return fire veered off course and smacked Sirius in the ear.
"Oi! What's the meaning of this?" He fished the roll out of his lap and chucked it back at Remus, who ducked.
Sirius had put such force behind the roll that it kept going past Remus and sailed right into Dumbledore's bowl of watercress soup.
The headmaster blinked for a moment, his face and robes dripping with soup. His sparkling eyes began to twinkle as he twitched is nose to rid his mustache of the liquid. He pulled the soggy roll out of the bowl and sat it in an empty platter.
He cleared his throat. "James, Sirius, Peter and Remus? Will you come here please?"
Dumbledore slowly stood and pointed his wand at his robes, which magically seemed to dry automatically. He led the boys out of the Great Hall and down a long corridor; he stopped in front of the gargoyle statue. "Cherry swizzelsticks," he muttered, and the gargoyle swung open. Dumbledore led the mischief-makers into his office.
The headmaster swooshed in behind his desk and placed his hands in front of him. The corners of his eyes began to shimmer; he was laughing.
Remus, Sirius and James had slightly guilty expressions on their faces; Peter looked as though he were about to faint.
Dumbledore stifled his laughter and tried to look stern. "I would like you boys to now that I am highly disappointed."
Sirius saw the corners of James' mouth twitching out of the corner of his eye. Any one of them would burst out laughing at any moment.
Dumbledore twitched his nose again. "Hagrid has just acquired a new... ahem... specimen. He's asked that the next detentionees be sent to help him. You will report to him at nine sharp tonight."
A wide grin spread across James' face. "Yes sir!"
"Now I know that I'm being harsh, but I'm sure that you boys can handle it." The headmaster had almost cracked a smile also.
James leaned over and rested his arm on Remus' shoulder. "We're sorry. It'll never happen again."
Fawkes the phoenix cooed from his perch in the corner as Sirius stroked its' feathers.
Dumbledore chuckled again. "You are dismissed."
They were filing out the door, when the headmaster spoke again. "If I could see you for a moment, Mr. Lupin?"
Sirius, James and peter nodded to Remus and paraded down the stairs.
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Outside the gargoyle they waited for Lupin.
"I'll bet that it's about the moon tomorrow," James whispered.
Sirius started to answer, but the sound of oncoming footsteps hushed him.
Severus Snape swished into view with a particularly smug grimace on his face, which tightened into a frown when he spotted Sirius, James and Peter. "Spying outside the headmasters office now? What will Professor Dumbledore think?"
James began a snide remark, but another set of footsteps echoed through the hall. A young teacher appeared; the tight bun that her dark hair was wrapped up in was falling down, and loose strands of hair were hanging around her face. He glasses were sliding down on her nose, and her robes were twisted this way and that. She was carrying an armload of books, almost dropping half of them, and she looked extremely tired.
Severus straightened his robes and walked away, turning around once to smirk at Sirius and James.
The rushing teacher stopped abruptly in front of the gargoyle; she looked at the boys and then back at the gargoyle. "He's with someone?" she murmured.
James nodded. "Yes, Professor McGonagall. He's with Remus Lupin."
McGonagall smiled. "You four... That was quite a stunt at dinner," she mused.
James grinned. He pulled his wand out of his robes and struck a pose. "Mischief is my middle name, my lady."
"Somehow I don't doubt that," McGonagall remarked. "Heaven help us should you have any children."
James' grin widened.
"You know, Potter? That was an almost perfect impression of that crazy night in the painting up stairs."
James snorted. "Was not."
The gargoyle swung open, and Remus stepped out. He nodded to his comrades and then to Professor McGonagall.
Dumbledore motioned for Professor McGonagall to come into his office, while James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus made their way back to Griffindor tower.
"Damn Snape!" Peter burst out. "Someone should really put him in his place."
A malicious grin spread over Sirius' face.
"Uh oh... what are you thinking?" James asked.
Sirius shook his head. "Nothing..." he mumbled. "I was just thinking."
The large portrait of the fat lady loomed ahead. "Oddsbotikins," Peter called.
Remus glanced at his watch. "You know, we should probably just head on down to Hagrid's. It's eight forty-two now."
James and Sirius exchanged a look, and started to head back downstairs. The fat lady swung closed with a loud thud. "Well, I never...!" she screamed. "If you boys think that I'm going to swing open and shut all night for you, you've got another think coming."
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The walk to Hagrid's was a quick one, considering the slight chill in the night air.
The boys found the gamekeeper behind is cabin, tethering an abnormal creature to a pole.
"What is that?" James sputtered.
"That," Hagrid replied proudly, "is a Griffodrake."
Remus blinked. The creature tethered to the pole halfway resembled a dragon. It had large furry hind paws with a long fuzzy tail, but scaled talons in the front. Its' head was long and narrow, covered with purplish scales, and ended in a blunt nose. Its' eyes were a golden red, and a silver spiked ridge ran along it's neck.
"He's kind of cute," James said. "What's his name?"
"Her name," Hagrid replied, "is Chrysanthemum."
"And what ate we supposed to do with her?"
Sirius hefted Fang into his arms. "Such a good boy, yes you are," he babbled.
Hagrid's eyes gleamed. "We're going ter give her a bath."
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When James, Sirius, Remus and Peter returned to the Griffindor tower three hours later, they were very thoroughly soaked and scratched up. "Wasn't that fun?" Sirius laughed on the way to his bunk.
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The owls swooped down during breakfast the next morning, as usual. A pudgy owl with a brownish stomach landed with a thud in front of Sirius. He shook his leg and Sirius pulled the small piece of parchment free.
"Hello, Euripides," Lily cooed, feeding the owl a strip of bacon.
Sirius howled at the parchment. He crumpled it up and chucked it at the bird, which flew away squawking angrily.
"What did it say?" asked Remus as he straightened out the piece of paper. "Feed me" was scrawled sloppily in large letters.
"It's cute," commented lily. "You should feed him. He is your pet."
"You should talk," Sirius grumbled. "You have a sweet little kitten, not a smart-ass owl."
"Yes, you are a sweet little thing, aren't you, Crookshanks?" Lily bent down and scooped a small ball of orange fur into her lap. The kitten turned its' head and mewed softly.
"Hey, Crooks. Want some bacon?" James pulled an uneaten strip from a platter ad dangled it in front of the cat's nose.
Crookshanks ate it thankfully.
"Oh Lily. I think that Severus is sweet on you," Remus said nonchalantly.
Severus sat with a group of Slytherins, staring off into space with a dreamy look on his face. He noticed the Griffindors and shot James a dirty look.
Sirius and Remus snickered.
"I don't think that your cat likes me very much, Lily." Peter broke the silence. He was offering the cat another strip of bacon, but Crookshanks was clawing at his hand and making strange yowling noises.
Lily smiled and scratched the kitten behind the ears. "I guess that he's just being crabby today."
Peter shrugged. "So, Mer. Moony," he said. "Are you ready for tonight?"
"Why certainly, Mr. Wormtail." Remus replied. "As long as Mr. Padfoot, and Mr. Prongs agree to make their appearance."
James smiled. "Mr. Padfoot and Mr. Prongs will indeed."
"Indeed," agreed Sirius.
Lily brushed a feather out of her hair, and leaned into James. "I just don't get you, sometimes," she muttered.
"Oi! We'd better go and get our books for Potions, " remarked Remus, standing up.
"Eh, we have Potions with the Slytherins this morning, don't we?" James groaned.
Sirius nodded. The seventh year Griffindors departed from the house table and headed for their first class.
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James pulled a lotus flower out of his pile of extras and handed it to Lily. She smiled and weaved it into her hair.
An awful smell filled the Potions classroom. Snape's cauldron was emitting a thick bluish smoke, and the Professor was trying to clam everyone down. He kept sprinkling a green powder into the cauldron and the smoke finally began to recede.
"Perhaps next time, Mr. Snape, you will take care to read the directions more carefully," the Professor gave him a stern look.
"At nutter can't do anything right," Remus muttered.
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The rest of the day's classes without the Slytherins passed rather quickly. Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall, History of Magic with Professor Binns, Spells with Professor Flitwick, and Herbology with Professor Sprout.
The Griffindors had their last class of the day, Divination, with the Slytherins though.
When all of the students had filed into the classroom, the Professor had instructed them to break off into pairs and start gazing into the preset crystal balls.
Lily sat down and began waving her hands over the ball that separated her from James in an attempt to make it look like he was working.
James extended his hands and closed them over hers, gazing into her eyes instead of the ball.
Severus was staring off into space again.
His partner, Sybill Trelawney, was becoming angry, and finally tapped him on the head to draw his attention back to their assignment. "Severus? Hello? I'm over here!"
James could hear Sirius and Remus snickering behind them.
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Dinner passed somewhat uneventfully, although Peter did attempt to flick a pea at the back of Severus' head.
When the meal ended, all the Griffindors headed back up to their tower, with the exception of two.
Sirius and Peter crept along the hallway outside the Slytherin house. Sirius pulled out a dirty piece of parchment and tapped it with his wand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he mumbled.
The parchment was suddenly covered with lines and dots, a moving map of the Hogwarts grounds.
A dot labeled Severus Snape was floating slowly towards the two dots labeled Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew.
"Are you sure that this isn't dangerous? I mean, we don't want Snape to get hurt," Sirius muttered to Peter.
"Don't be absurd," replied Peter. "He won't be able to get past the Whomping Willow. And besides, it would serve him right, always bugging James and Lily, and trying to find out what Lupin's secret was."
Sirius shrugged. "Well, lets get this over with."
They waited until Severus' footsteps were dangerously close, and then they began the pre-planned conversation.
"Poor Remus," said Sirius. "I do hope that he will be all right."
"He will be," answered Peter.
"We can go see him tonight, if you want."
"How?"
"All you have to do to get past the Whomping Willow is prod the know on the trees trunk with a long pole and the branches will stop moving. You can walk right up to the trap door in the trunk."
They walked around the corner smack into Severus. The look in his face told them that he had heard everything.
He made a face at them and disappeared into his common room.
Sirius slapped Peter an uneasy high five. He tapped the map with his wand. "Mischief managed." The dots and lines melted away, leaving only a blank piece of parchment.
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After entering the Griffindor common room, Sirius plopped down into an empty armchair by the fire. "Where did Remus go?" Peter leaned up against the nearest wall.
"He already went down with Madame Pomfrey. She said that he was supposed to come early tonight," James replied. He was in the middle of an intense game of chess with Lily; she was winning.
"Shall we go then?" he asked when Lily's queen took his king in checkmate.
James stood as stood as inconspicuously as possible and tucked the invisibility cloak into his robes.
Lily rose and kissed him lightly. "Don't do anything stupid, now," she ordered.
A wide grin spread across his face. "Who, me?"
"Awe, but being good is no fun," Sirius mused. "So tell me, James. You were letting her win, weren't you?"
James snorted. "No. She was whooping my tail quite thoroughly enough."
They made their way down to the Whomping Willow, neatly tucked under the invisibility cloak.
"Moon's almost out," muttered Peter. He glanced sidelong at Peter who was morphing into a large black Labrador.
James chuckled playfully. "An improvement in your appearance, Sirius."
The dog snorted disdainfully and nipped for a bit at his insulters heels, before morphing back into his human form.
"Oi! I was only messing!" James shouted. He paused. "Why is... the Willow not moving?"
The branches of the Willow had ceased their constant movement and were now still in the chilly twilight.
James saw a quick swish of black robes before the trapdoor shut and the tree whizzed back to life.
"Was that..."
"Snape!" Sirius and Peter took off at a run towards the tree with James close behind.
When they reached the outstretched limbs, Sirius and Peter paused to morph, but James kept going, straight into the violent fray.
He made it halfway to the trunk before suffering the first blow. A large limb slammed into his stomach, sending him flying. He jumped to his feet and started towards the trapdoor again.
James' hand grazed the small knot that would paralyze the tree, but another branch smacked into his face, leaving a large amount of blood steaming down the front of his robes.
"Ah! Dammit!!" he yelled, reaching for the knot again.
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Severus held a shaking hand over his left arm. Getting through the Whomping Willow had been a bit harder than he had expected, but he had done it.
Now as he pushed the trapdoor closed, he pulled out his wand and flicked it in the air. "Lumos."
The passage continued on for a ways, until finally Severus saw another door ahead of him.
The handle began to turn. Severus took a deep breath and extinguished his wand, backing into a dark corner in an attempt to hide.
"...do hope that he will be all right, the poor dear." Madame Pomfrey followed Dumbledore around the corner. They were heading back to towards the Whomping Willow.
Severus waited until he could no longer hear their footsteps before making his way to the door.
A large silver bar had been fastened over the door, obviously to prevent anyone inside from exiting.
Curiosity peeking, he reached for the door.
The room inside was a ransacked mess. Furniture was smashed and the walls had deep scratches in them.
Severus spotted Lupin. He was sitting in the middle of the room, facing the now open doorway.
When Remus looked up, Severus saw that his eyes were an un-human amber-yellow.
Lupin stared at Severus for a moment, and then bent over, moaning in pain.
Severus remained still for a moment and then took a step forward, with his hand outstretched. "Remus?"
Silvery fur rippled over Lupin's body as his screams of agony grew louder.
Severus glanced frantically at the door. When his gaze fell back onto Remus, a large seething wolf glared back at him.
Severus opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
The wolf threw his head up and howled, long and mournful. When the howl died, the wolf began to growl and slowly pawed its way toward the cowering human.
Severus felt arms around his waist, pulling him backwards out of the room and away from the snarling wolf; he didn't resist.
The wolf charged.
James threw Severus out of the room and slammed the door, locking it.
The wolf growled and hammered into the door with a loud thud, trying its' best to get out.
James backed away.
Severus lay sprawled on the ground, gulping air. "He's a... werewolf..." he gasped.