Sirius Black & the Mystery within the Willow
By Erin Macbeth, Marie Krider, & Spencer Barnardo
Smoke from the scarlet steam engine billowed high over the Hogwarts Express. Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was remarkably empty, apart from a handsome twelve-year-old boy who appeared a bit bored in the quietness of the deserted platform.
Sirius Black was lounging on his trunk, leaning lazily against the cold brick wall. The frigid winter air clung to his hands as he twiddled his wand. He glanced at the clock for what seemed like the hundredth time since he walked through the barrier dividing platforms nine and ten.
Sirius had arrived abnormally early for a student whose Christmas holiday just came to an end. The Hogwarts Express would not leave for another hour, and his friends would likely arrive shortly before departure. He let out a petulant sigh, his breath a puff of smoke, much like the exhaust from the train's engine. He rested his head against the wall, causing his shaggy black hair to fall into his eyes, accentuating their color of slate.
Closing his eyes, Sirius could not prevent the events of the past two weeks from creeping into his thoughts. Sirius' holiday away from Hogwarts was not remotely pleasant. Forced to come home by his temperamental mother, he reluctantly returned to Number 12 Grimmauld Place, The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black.
The memories flooded in, perfectly clear as he began to nod off—
Sirius hopped off the Knight Bus and dragged his trunk to the grass landing facing the mundane row of Muggle houses. Tufnell Park was an uninteresting place located just north of London. To the Muggle eye, there was merely one peculiar feature about their humdrum line of houses: a gap between house numbers eleven and thirteen Grimmauld Place.
Sirius stood facing the tall, dilapidated houses, his back to the shabby square. He approached the spot where number twelve should exist and held the thought Toujours Pur in his mind. No sooner than this thought was released, a battered front door emerged out of nowhere between numbers eleven and thirteen. Walls and windows expanded on the spot. The house swelled, shoving its neighboring houses out of the way as it took its place between them.
Sirius sauntered up the front steps. Knowing he couldn't open the door without magic, he clasped the serpentine silver knocker and hammered it against the door several times. Just to be obnoxious, Sirius rang the doorbell consecutively, causing a loud, clanging ruckus. Remarkably, the commotion went unnoticed by their neighbors. Sirius could hear his mother shriek a stream of cuss words behind the closed door. Sirius smiled sourly.
Home, sweet home, he thought to himself.
After a series of metallic clicks and the clank of a chain, the door creaked open exposing a shriveled house-elf wearing nothing more than a filthy rag tied around his waist like a loincloth. Kreacher bowed deeply at the sight of Sirius, his snout-like nose brushing the floor.
"Young Master Sirius," he said, adding in a barely audible grumble, "Nasty little brat, dishonoring the family name, broke my Mistress' heart, sorted into Gryff—"
Sirius, ignoring the house-elf, ambled through the door and kicked it closed behind him. He dropped his trunk in the entrance with a loud thud.
"Bring my trunk to my bedroom, Kreacher," ordered Sirius, glowering at the elf from the doorway.
"Yes Master," drawled the elf, and with a snap of his fingers, the trunk floated up the grand staircase, Kreacher hobbling up behind it. The light from the gas lamps and overhead chandelier flickered off the elf's balding head. "Kreacher lives to serve the noble house of Black—"
As Kreacher disappeared past the row of shrunken house-elves heads mounted to the wall, his last words were drowned out by an arduous voice.
"Sirius!" bellowed a voice from the drawing room. "Come in here at once."
Sirius walked down the hall, dreading the reunion with his mother. Walburga Black stood in front of a large fireplace, admiring the tapestry of the Black family tree hanging on the wall. She ran her long fingernails over the golden thread embroidery that encased the members of the Black family, stopping at Sirius' name.
"You're name is like a filthy stain on this tapestry, Sirius," she said, her figure dark in front of the crackling fire, casting a thick black shadow across the ornate glass-fronted cabinets. "To come from an entire bloodline of Slytherins, and be sorted into a house filled with scum. Bunch of blood-traitors, Mudbloods, mutants, freaks, the lot of them!" she spat.
"If you called me in here just to groan on about how I'm the biggest disappointment since your squib of a cousin, Marius, then can we save this happy little reunion until later?" said Sirius, with great contempt in his voice. "I'm starving."
Sirius turned to retreat from the room but froze upon hearing his mother screech, "Petrificus Totalus!"
The body-binding curse hit him in the arm and his entire body went rigid. Sirius swayed slightly on the spot. Walburga prowled up to him and clutched him by the shoulders, holding him upright. Her eyes narrowed and her mouth stretched taut in a scowl.
"Don't you dare turn your back on me when I'm talking to you, you disgraceful little prat," snapped Walburga. "I received multiple owls from Hogwarts informing me of the trouble you've been getting into, Sirius Black. You and your Muggle-loving friends." She was right in Sirius' face now; her breath felt like fire on his cheeks. "I thought I taught you better than to go mixing with blithering idiots."
Sirius was used to this sort of encounter with his mother. Ever since he was sorted into Gryffindor house, his mother felt nothing but shame for her eldest son. She'd force Sirius to return home each holiday in a feeble attempt to render the idea that her family name remained untainted. By coercing her son to come home, he wouldn't be able to fraternize with the wrong sort.
"Remember, boy, as long as you're a member of this family, you will uphold the family name and you will abide by our ideologies," she spat. "I don't want you to associate yourself with that Potter boy, or those Lupins. There's something off about that Remus boy. Now get out of my sight before your father—"
"What the bloody hell is going on in here?" Orion Black's booming voice came from behind Sirius' frozen body. He towered over both of them, his penetrating grey eyes darting from his wife to his son.
Orion took out his wand and conducted the counter-curse to unfreeze Sirius. "Huh—I see you've made it home safely," he grunted at Sirius.
"Yeah," said Sirius grimly.
Orion Black was not a particularly chatty man and his presence had the tendency to ice over a room like a dementor. "Kreacher has supper ready in the kitchen," he said and walked back toward the basement staircase.
Sirius wandered into the hallway and spotted his younger brother Regulus hiding behind the umbrella stand made from the severed leg of a troll.
"You little prat, Reg!" said Sirius. "Why do you always have to listen in? If I didn't know better, I'd think you like hearing me get hollered at."
As Sirius strode past him, he knocked over the stand, which landed on top of his brother with a clunk.
"Why can't you just mind your own business?" said Sirius.
"Sorry," mumbled Regulus as he chased his brother down the narrow stone stairs to the kitchen. "Why do you always have to get yourself into trouble?"
"Oh, don't act like you care Reg. You know you love being the golden child," mocked Sirius. "Always sucking up to mum and dad, and even Kreacher! You know, just because we're purebloods, doesn't make us royal, Reg. Sooner or later you've got to realize that."
Regulus looked troubled as he took his seat at the wooden table in the center of the cavernous kitchen. The two boys dug into the parsnip shepherd's pie without another word. Walburga broke the silence.
"Orion, I got word back from Alphard and Cygnus," she said conversationally. "They've agreed to come for Christmas dinner. Cygnus and Druella are bringing the girls as well."
Orion nodded, clearly uninterested, and returned his focus to the food on his plate.
Sirius, however, nearly choked on his bite when he heard this news. He loathed his Uncle Cygnus and Aunt Druella. Even worse were their daughters, Bellatrix and Narcissa. Though their third daughter, Andromeda, was his favorite cousin.
At least Uncle Alphard isn't completely mental, thought Sirius. Uncle Alphard always expressed a little sympathy towards Sirius whenever he visited, giving him extra sweets in secret.
Sirius spent most of Christmas Eve hanging up Gryffindor posters and photos all around his bedroom. He knew this would send his mother into a right state, but Sirius didn't care. He was proud to be in Gryffindor, it was a house he felt comfortable and happy in, a house where he was accepted.
Sirius woke on Christmas morning to his mother's voice.
"Regulus, my little king, wake up" Walburga cooed outside his brother's door. "Happy Christmas!"
Sirius heard her approach his own door and braced himself for her reaction. She opened his door, took one look at his new decorations, and screamed as though she were being tortured.
"Mornin', Mum—" Sirius said, smiling wryly.
"You detestable little toerag!" she thundered. "How dare you befoul the house of my fathers?"
Walburga whipped out her wand and, with one sharp swoop, the entire Gryffindor decor was in a heap on the floor.
"Incendio!" she hissed. The pile burst into flames; scarlet and gold memorabilia blending with the blaze of the fire. Sirius swore that the next time he came home, he would use a Permanent Sticking Charm on his decorations, just to make his 'filthy stain' a bit more permanent. After the last of it was destroyed, Sirius' mother stormed back down the stairs.
"Happy Christmas to you, too!" he called after her.
As the day dragged on, Grimmauld Place became packed full of Blacks.
"I see the Fidelius Charm is still working nicely, Orion," remarked Uncle Cygnus. "We don't want any more filth finding this place. Sirius' company sullies it enough."
Orion grunted in agreement. The rest of the evening was filled with rants about pureblood politics, his aunts and uncles bursting with insults.
After finishing their treacle pudding, Sirius and his cousins reverted to the second floor, Bellatrix and Sirius quarreling the entire time. Bellatrix was relentless in her offensive comments about how all Gryffindors were Mudbloods, traitors, and scum.
Sirius refuted with equally foul remarks and shoved her into the nearest wardrobe. Bellatrix released a blood-curdling scream, cursing as she came running out of the wardrobe. She was smothered in an ancient set of purple robes, which appeared to be strangling her. Narcissa, Andromeda, and Regulus hurried to assist her, seizing the robes off of her and hurling them back into the cabinet.
Bellatrix was furious, her face red and blotchy. She was still screaming as she darted after Sirius, who was two-steps ahead of her. Bellatrix caught up to him at the bottom of the stairs and rammed him into the grandfather clock. Upon impact, the clock shot out lightning-like bolts, striking Aunt Druella in the foot as she came to stop the tumult.
The house of Black erupted in mayhem. Curses and insults came flying at Sirius, who stood there defiantly and took the abuse.
"Yoooou!" Walburga snarled at Sirius. "Youinsufferable, foul piece of scum—"
The last of his mother's insults rang in Sirius' ears as a train's whistle stirred him awake. As Sirius' mind drifted back to the present, his eyes adjusting to the families bustling onto the platform.
"Oy!" called a familiar voice. "Sirius! Over here!"
Sirius gazed over the crowd toward the voice. A tall, lean boy with tousled black hair and glasses was waving at him from across the platform.
Suddenly all the misery of the past two weeks seemed to abandon Sirius. He jumped up off his trunk and strolled over toward the Potter family.
"Blimey Sirius, you going deaf?" James said, grinning as Sirius approached. "I've been hollering trying to get your attention for ages!" said James Potter, slapping Sirius on the back. "Have a good holiday?"
"Oh, just peachy," replied Sirius sarcastically. "Hello, Mrs. Potter," he added with a charming smile to the woman standing beside James.
"Sirius, my dear, so good to see you!" she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Her hazel eyes beamed at him with warmth.
"Ah, and there's Remus!" hollered James, getting the boy's attention.
Remus Lupin hugged his father goodbye, and strolled over toward Sirius and James, leaving Mr. Lupin with a worried look suspended across his face.
"Remus, my dear, you feeling alright? You look a bit pale and peaky," Mrs. Potter said with concern. "I hear your mother is quite ill, I hope you haven't come down with something as well!"
"Oh, I'm fine, Mrs. Potter. No need to worry," Remus replied politely. "Mum is feeling much better now and told me to give you her thanks for the cabbage soup you sent."
"Well I am glad to hear it," said Mrs. Potter. "You will try to keep these two out of trouble, won't you Remus?" she added with a wink.
"Ha!" laughed Sirius and James together.
"He can try," Sirius said with a sly grin.
"Remus isn't as innocent as you think, Mum," added James, gripping Remus by the shoulders. "He has a mischievous side, when his nose isn't stuck in a book—"
The Hogwarts Express whistled again, puffing smoke over the platform busy with witches and wizards seeing their children onto the train.
Mrs. Potter hugged all three of them. "Do take care, won't you boys?" she said, her eyes crinkled with affection. "I've packed you all leftover turkey sandwiches and Christmas cake for the trip back to Hogwarts. And save some for little Peter!" she said, shepherding the boys into a compartment.
The three boys clambered onto the train and shut the compartment door behind them. They all waved to Mrs. Potter as the train took off.
"Oh, before I forget—I've got you both Christmas presents," said James, putting his trunk on the luggage rack.
A faded, tinny sort of whistle was coming from somewhere. They all scanned the compartment.
"It's coming from your trunk, James," said Sirius, standing up and reaching into the trunk. A moment later he had pulled the Pocket Sneakoscope out from between James' robes. It was whirling very fast in the palm of Sirius' hand and glowing brilliantly.
"Merlin's beard! Is this a Sneakoscope?" asked Sirius.
James took it from Sirius and plopped it into Remus' lap. "Yep! Happy Christmas, Remus!" The dark magic detector spun violently in Remus's hands, whose face grew two shades paler.
"Huh, that's strange," said Sirius, eyeing the Sneakoscope. "Snivellus is probably in the next compartment practicing some Dark magic, the git."
"Yea, probably," murmured Remus, tucking the present away in his trunk to muffle the noise. "Thanks, James."
James ruffled through his trunk and pulled out a pair of silver mirrors, giving one to Sirius.
"Ha! James, mate, I already know I look good. I don't need a ruddy mirror to reassure me."
"Shut up, Sirius," said James, snatching the mirror back. "It's a two-way mirror. All you have to do is say my name into it; you'll appear in my mirror and I'll be able to talk in yours. We can use them when we're in separate detentions. I bet it would irritate the heck out of Filch."
"Brilliant," said Sirius with a mischievous grin.
"I got Exploding Snap for Peter, but we'll have to wait 'til we're back at Hogwarts to give it a go," said James. "I wonder how his holiday was stuck at the castle."
"Probably hid in the dormitories the whole time," said Sirius.
"Or maybe he enjoyed tea and crumpets in the common room with McGonagall," Remus said jokingly. "We all know how fond he is of her."
The boys spent the rest of the trip back to Hogwarts laughing and scheming, excited to start the new term.
A few days after term started, the Gryffindor second years had their most interesting Transfiguration class to date. Professor McGonagall taught them about anamagi and turned herself into a tabby cat right before their eyes. After the lesson, Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter were packing up their bags and preparing to descend the marble staircase on their way to dinner when Professor McGonagall called one of them back.
"Mr. Lupin, a word please."
"I'll catch up with you lot later," called Remus to the other three.
"What do you think that's all about?" Sirius asked James and Peter.
"Who knows, maybe he's going to visit his 'sick mum' again," replied James in a disbelieving tone, "but I'm starving, I hope there's something good for dinner."
The three boys immensely enjoyed their dinner, chatting joyfully with the other Gryffindors at the table, spilling pumpkin juice, and shoving more food into their mouths than could properly fit, but something was off; Remus had yet to return. Though this was not uncommon; Remus tended to disappear quite often. He usually told them the same story, though by now Sirius and James weren't sure they believed him.
"What's taking him so long?" asked Sirius.
"McGonagall must think he needs extra help with Vera Vetro," suggested Peter.
"We all know that if anyone needed extra help Peter, it would be you," joked James, causing Sirius to choke on his pudding and spit it out all over Lily, who immediately picked up her things with an angry glare and stormed away from the table, muttering something that sounded like "disgusting" and "immature," which just caused Sirius' barking laugh to fill the Great Hall.
With their bellies full and their spirits high, the three headed back upstairs to the Gryffindor common room, pausing only to give the Fat Lady the password, "Gibbous," before taking their usual seats by the fire and reluctantly pulling out their Potions books to finish Slughorn's essay.
"What do we need to know this rubbish for anyway?" asked Sirius. "It's not like we're going to need it when we get out of here. Potions is for people like Snivellus who can't use a wand properly," snarled Sirius in an impressive impression of Severus' greasy voice.
James had just gotten up to go get his History of Magic homework from the dormitory when he froze right in front of the window that looked out over the grounds. Without turning to face the other two boys, he called them over.
"I swear I just saw something moving out there, see look!" James was right; it was still light enough outside to see that something, or someone, was definitely moving towards the Whomping Willow, a violent tree that was planted during their first year at Hogwarts. The students had been forewarned at the beginning of their time at Hogwarts to stay away from the tree. After seeing what it had done to an innocent bird that had accidentally flown too close, they didn't need to be told twice.
"It looks like two people, but who in their right mind would run toward the Whomping Willow, especially at night?" wondered Sirius. Even from this distance, with little light, Sirius was almost positive he knew who one of the figures was.
"From here it looks like one tall figure, and one smaller one," pondered James. "Wait… the tree seems to have stopped moving, but how?"
Both Sirius and James were staring out the window, but the people had disappeared.
"Where did they go?" asked James.
The boys stared out the window for a few minutes, trying to find the two people on the grounds. It was Sirius who finally spotted movement.
"The tall figure is heading back up to the school. What happened to the other one?" The Remus looking one, Sirius amended in his head. He had the feeling that James was thinking the same thing. Ever since they had met on their first journey to the castle, the two had been inseparable. They were one in the same and they had the uncanny ability to know what the other was thinking.
"James, Sirius, move over, I can't see anything," whined Peter. But neither of the other two boys answered; they were both looking at each other now with the sparkle of adventure in their eyes and a suspicious grin was taking over their faces.
"Cloak," they both whispered in unison, and, before Peter could get his opinion in, James was dashing upstairs to the dormitory. Sirius was now sure that James had been thinking the same thing, that the smaller figure out there was their other best friend Remus Lupin. James returned moments later with his father's Invisibility cloak tucked away in his pocket.
"You d-don't plan on going out there d-do you?" asked Peter terrified.
"Of course we do," replied Sirius. "You know us well enough by now Peter to know that James and I never turn down a good adventure."
"Plus," added James, "what if it is Remus? Maybe we can finally figure out if he's actually been going home to visit his sick mum these past two years." This potential was too much for Peter to deny.
"Okay, I'm in," Peter agreed weakly.
Luckily it was still early enough to leave the common room without drawing attention to themselves. Once they rounded the corner and were free of the Fat Lady's gaze, they threw on the cloak and headed quickly down the hall towards the oak front doors.
They were moving too quickly to pay close attention to their surroundings and, before they knew what was happening, Mrs. Norris, Filch the caretaker's cat, was heading straight towards them. Not a moment too soon, they threw themselves against the wall and out of the path of the lurking cat. Peter was shaking and breathing so loudly that James had to throw a hand over Peter's mouth to quiet him. Finally, the cat moved on and the three boys breathed a sigh of relief. Though they knew that they were completely invisible, for the cloak had never failed them before, Sirius still had the uneasy feeling that Mrs. Norris could see them and, if they didn't move soon, Filch would show up.
After surviving such a close call, they reluctantly decided to take it slow the rest of the way. Sirius knew that they were slowing down for the sake of Peter and himself. James had an unnatural ability to maneuver these hallways without a sound; sometimes Sirius joked that James didn't even need the Invisibility Cloak considering his ability to sneak around undetected. Finally, they reached the great oak doors. As quietly as possible, the three managed their way through a crack in the double doors just wide enough for them to slip through sideways.
Once on the grounds, the boys hurried to where they saw the figures disappear. They were lucky it was a cloudless night; the stars and moon shone so brightly that there was no need for them to light their wands.
"So what now?" asked Peter. There was something haughty about the way he posed the question, as if he was sure James and Sirius would never be able to figure it out and they'd be forced to return to the warm fire in the common room, danger averted.
"Well, isn't it obvious, Peter?" retorted Sirius, "We have to figure out how to get the tree to stop moving like the other people did." This was not the answer that Peter was looking for.
"I know that," Peter replied, the haughtiness in his voice was gone, "but it's not like we know how to do it," he continued.
"We could also just try to get past it," dared James.
"G-get past it?" stuttered Peter. "B-But what if it hits us?"
Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter had been friends since first year when they had all been sorted into Gryffindor, the house for the brave and the brawn, but even a year and a half later, Sirius still questioned the Sorting Hat's decision to put Peter into Gryffindor.
"There's bound to be a way to get past it without resorting to running head first into the wild branches," Sirius assured Peter. "We just have to look around."
So the three, still under the cloak, began walking around the tree, looking for anything out of the ordinary. After three times around, it became quite clear that Sirius and James' spirits had dropped. Even Sirius didn't dare take on the tree head-on.
"We have to have missed something," James said annoyed.
"Maybe we should split up," suggested Sirius. "It's dark enough now for us to do a lap or two unnoticed."
The others agreed. James tucked the cloak back into his pocket and they started their circling again. Sirius had completed another full lap and had begun his second when a crashing noise caught his attention. He turned just in time to see Peter had gotten too close to the Whomping Willow and been struck by one of the tree's violent branches. The tree swung about viciously, forcing Sirius and James to back away. Peter, who had been thrown into the trunk of the tree, scrambled out of the way of more branches. As he grabbed onto the trunk to pull himself up, the tree suddenly stopped moving.
"Peter, what happened?" Sirius asked, not able to keep the awe out of his voice.
"Something you touched on the trunk must have stopped the tree, Peter," answered James.
"Wicked," whispered Sirius.
"It must have been this knot." Peter pointed to a gnarl in the trunk, "That's where I grabbed on. And look there's an opening at the base of the tree; I bet that's where they disappeared!" Peter exclaimed excitedly.
Sirius and James cautiously made their way toward the base of the tree where Peter was standing. The three boys stared down the hole; it was definitely big enough to fit a person. Sirius, who has always prided himself in his cleverness, could not believe that he had not noticed it before, even though it was hidden quite well.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" asked James, "let's go!"
"James, I'll follow you; Peter, you bring up the rear," Sirius instructed.
The three boys lit their wands and headed into the hole. The passage below was so narrow that they had to crawl on all fours to get through.
"Where do you think this goes?" asked Sirius.
"Not a clue," replied James.
"How much further?" whined Peter. His breathing was getting heavy as the passage began to tilt upward.
"Can't be much further," replied James. "It looks like the passage is beginning to widen."
James was right; as the passage continued to wind upward, it also began to widen to a point where they were able to crouch without hitting their heads on the earthy ceiling. Finally, they were able to stand straight up and, from the look of the place, they were emerging into a rickety, rundown house.
"Where are we?" asked Sirius, spinning around to get his bearings.
"I think…" started James, "I think we're in the Shrieking Shack."
"The Shrieking Shack? Huh? I wonder why anyone would build a tunnel here."
"Maybe we should head back. Isn't this place supposed to haunted?" suggested Peter.
"What's wrong Peter? Scared a ghost might hurt you?" joked Sirius.
"Come on," whispered James, a little annoyed, "let's see what's upstairs."
James started to sneak towards the staircase with Sirius close on his heel. Trailing behind was Peter, taking his time to be as quiet as possible. Silently, the trio ascended the staircase; at the top there were three rooms. The paint was chipping off the walls and the boys had to be careful where they stepped because one wrong move would send them falling through a hole in the floor to the level below. Not daring to speak, James headed towards the single room on the right and the others followed. Though they each had their own suspicions as to where Remus disappeared to, nothing could have prepared them for what they found. James reached the room first and froze. Noticing this strange behavior, Sirius came up beside him and his jaw dropped. Neither could move; neither could make a sound.
Peter walked into Sirius and James who had stopped dead in their tracks. He poked Sirius in the back trying to see what had caused them to stop moving.
"Peter," breathed Sirius, "back away. Slowly."
"What? Why?" Peter squeaked. He edged between the two boys and let out a sharp squeal. The werewolf's ears pricked up at the noise and Sirius groaned. Their hopes of retreating quietly and without the werewolf noticing were gone. The beast howled. It crouched low, ready to lunge for them. Sirius could feel Peter trembling next to him. He turned his head slightly and saw James, who seemed just as reluctant as he was to take his eyes off of the werewolf and run full out. The two made eye contact and both nodded slightly at each other. They knew what they had to do. Sirius took a breath and exhaled, preparing himself for what was coming.
"RUN!" bellowed James. He and Sirius whipped around, cloaks billowing out behind them, and began sprinting for the stairs they had come up and the secret entrance that would take them back to school. Sirius heard a crash just behind him and instinctively turned. Peter had tripped and fallen. The werewolf, who had been taken by surprise at his prey's flight, was now bearing down upon Peter who had curled up into a ball, wand forgotten. Sirius whipped out his own wand and said the first spell that came to mind.
"Periculum!" Red sparks shot from the wand, causing the werewolf to jump back. Sirius fleetingly wondered why their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor had yet to teach them how to actually protect themselves as he grabbed Peter by the back of the robes and dragged him to his feet.
James was waiting for them at the entrance to the secret passage as they came flying down the stairs, the werewolf snapping at their heels as they ran. It caught Peter's robes and yanked him down to the ground, causing him to squeal in fright. Sirius ran up and kicked the werewolf as James grabbed Peter and threw him into the secret tunnel and then climbed in after him followed closely by Sirius, who slammed the door just as the werewolf flung himself at the door in one last attempt to catch them.
The three boys sat on the dirt ground for a few minutes without speaking; the only sounds were their panting breaths and Peter's occasional squeaks of fear. It was James who spoke first.
"Well…that was exciting."
Sirius roared with laughter as Peter spluttered in shock. "Exciting? We could've been bitten! We could've been eaten!" Peter was rocking back and forth, wringing his hands. "Do you think Remus escaped or do you think the werewolf got him?"
Sirius looked at him with incredulity, his mouth hanging open. "Peter, are you really that thick? Don't you realize? That werewolf is Remus!"
"Wh…what…what do you mean?"
Sirius growled with frustration and turned to James, hoping he could explain.
"Peter, Remus hasn't been going home all this time. He's been coming here and transforming into a bloody werewolf!"
Peter stared at the other two with his mouth silently opening and closing and his eyes filled with terror.
They sat there quietly for a few minutes. Sirius thought of his friend, forced to change into a monster every month. The fact that he'd kept his secret hidden for so long impressed Sirius, but he knew eventually the world would know what Remus was and then what? A life of prejudice, hatred, and mistrust. No one deserved a life like that, especially not Remus, who was smart and loyal and arguably the best behaved of the four of them.
A loud crunching noise that sounded like furniture being ripped to pieces jolted him back to reality. He shook his shaggy hair out of his face and looked at James, whose bright eyes shone behind his glasses, a gleaming look of determination on his face. Sirius knew that look. It was the one James had whenever he had resolved to break a rule.
"Come on," Sirius said quietly, "we should head back to the castle." He and James turned to start crawling back through the passage, but stopped to look back at Peter, whose mouth was still hanging wide with fright. Sirius nudged him with his foot to get him moving again and James took the lead as they crawled back through the tunnel. Sirius was quiet as they moved slowly along and thought about their furry friend they had left behind in the Shrieking Shack. A thought suddenly occurred to him.
"James, do you think there are other passages like this? Secret tunnels or hidden paths that lead out of the castle and into the grounds?"
James stopped and maneuvered awkwardly to look back at his friend. Peter bumped into Sirius for the second time that night.
"Blimey, I bet you're right! There are probably all sorts of hidden places in Hogwarts that students don't know about. Or even the professors!" He ran his hand through his untidy hair.
"Shouldn't we keep moving?" Peter squeaked nervously from behind them. Sirius rolled his eyes at James, who smirked and turned to continue leading their group out of the tunnel.
The rest of their journey through the passage passed in silence. Sirius was deep in thought as they continued creeping. Their adventure had given him more to think about than any of his lessons.
They reached the exit and quietly crept up and out of the hole. The Whomping Willow's branches were swinging violently once again.
"Peter," Sirius turned to his small friend with a mocking smile, "think you'll be able to find the knot? Or do you need to be beaten by the tree again?"
James laughed and clapped Sirius on the back as Peter hunched his shoulders in embarrassment while forcing a hesitant laugh. He turned around and edged along the base of the tree pressing the trunk. Finally, not far from the entrance to the passage, he found a large knobby knot that paralyzed the tree.
"Ha!" barked Sirius. "Well done, Peter."
James put the Invisibility Cloak over the three of them. They trudged slowly across the grounds and up to the giant oak doors into the castle.
"What if the doors are locked?" Peter whispered, his whole body shaking with fear.
"Well, we're wizards, so I guess we'll use magic to unlock them," Sirius said, frustration straining his voice. "Now be quiet and stop trembling so much."
The boys were in luck though and the doors remained unlocked. They crept into the castle. Peter, as the last one through, shut the door with a creak and a soft thud that made Sirius wince. They crept into the Entrance Hall and up the marble staircase. A loud cackle made them stop and back silently against a stone wall. Peeves the Poltergeist was bobbing down the hallway knocking on the helmets of the suits of armor lining the corridor. Sirius held his breath as Peeves approached and didn't release it until he had somersaulted by them in the air and turned a corner.
"Come on," James muttered, "let's keep moving before someone else shows up."
They didn't meet anyone else on their way back to Gryffindor Tower. The Fat Lady was awake in her frame when they approached.
"Who's there?" she asked. "I can hear you breathing, who is it?"
"Gibbous," Sirius whispered from beneath the cloak.
"Just because you were invisible doesn't mean you should have been walking around the castle at night!" the Fat Lady called to them as they pulled off the Invisibility Cloak and clambered through the portrait hole and into Gryffindor Tower.
The Common Room was empty and the fire had diminished to a faint glow in the grate. James stopped in the middle of the room and turned to face his friends.
"So what do we do?" he asked them.
"Well, I think it's obvious," Sirius said.
"Yes, it is," Peter said, his shoulders sagging with relief. "I was worried you were going to do something crazy or stupid or dangerous, so I'm glad we all agree that we have to do this, it's the safest option really, only thing that makes sense if you thi-"
"Peter, what are you rambling on about?" James cut him off.
"If I'm not very mistaken, I think our dear friend, Peter, wants to snitch about Remus and his...ah...furry little problem," Sirius said, both amused and slightly disgusted by Peter's fear.
"Wh…what? You don't want to stop being friends with him? Werewolves are dangerous!" Peter said shrilly.
"Peter," James said, trying to remain calm, "hasn't the last year and a half shown you that Remus is just like us? He just happens to also turn into a raging beast once a month."
Sirius let out a short, barking laugh. "Remus is our friend Peter, and that's how he'll stay." His voice had such intense finality in it that he knew Peter wouldn't dare argue with him.
"Just thought I'd mention it…"
"Well, we won't be doing that. Actually, I think we need to do the opposite. I think we need to help him," Sirius said.
"And how are we supposed to do that?" Peter asked, though he didn't sound like he really wanted to know the answer.
"We become animagi, of course," said James.
"Exactly," said Sirius.
"Oh…right…of course," whimpered Peter. "Isn't that…isn't that dangerous?"
"Oh yeah, and difficult!" Sirius said with glee.
"Great," Peter said unenthusiastically.
"I think it's a brilliant plan! Not to mention illegal...I can't wait to tell Remus all about it, honestly. He'll probably try to stop us or something ridiculous like that," James added thoughtfully.
"When has he ever been able to stop us though?" Sirius asked. The two boys laughed. Peter groaned. Sirius and James ignored him and his lack of enthusiasm.
"It's going to be difficult though," Sirius said with a grin. "We'll have to hide this from everyone and have to be careful that we don't mess this up."
"Then what are you smiling about, Sirius?" Peter asked grumpily.
"I'm just thinking about what my parents would say if they found out one of my best friends is a werewolf." James laughed loudly and put one arm around his best friend's shoulders. The two of them headed for their dormitory, leaving Peter standing there in shock.
When they reached their room, the two boys quietly changed into their pajamas and crept into bed. Sirius lied in his four-poster and stared out the window at the moonlight streaming through and onto the floor of the room. He heard Peter come in shortly after and slip into his own bed. It wasn't long before his soft snores drifted through the room. Sirius stared out the window at the full moon. He thought of his friend, locked away in the Shrieking Shack, changed into a terrifying monster. Sirius was glad James agreed they had to stand by Remus because he knew it was more bearable to be an outcast when you had friends. He rolled over onto his side, back to the bright moon, and smiled again to himself at the thought of the adventures they were all sure to have.