'I've got a bad feeling about this guys'. Remus whispered as he was yet again stepped on by Sirius. 'Aw come on reeemsy' cajoled James, who was in front leading the way, under his invisibility cloak. Him, Sirius, lupin and Peter were all under the cloak, making their way slowly but surely out of the castle and into the grounds. They spotted Rubeus Hagrid by the forbidden forest, probably messing around with some creature or other, thought James. 'Sometimes I worry about that boy' comment Sirius as they walked on, past the greenhouses and to a bare area of green.
On top of a small hill, stood a mighty tree. It was knarled and old. It also quivered in the breeze. This tree was known to poke people's eyes out when it was annoyed, and they had once been told a very nasty story by Professor Snape about a new Hogwarts teacher that had thought the story of the whomping willow was a joke. He had gone up to the tree with his wand raised, and sent a fire spell into the trunk. Needless to say; he wasn't there to give his divination class their lesson the next morning. That particular story had given peter nightmares for weeks.
'Ok then, smart arse, now what?' grinned Remus, looking at James. James merely winked, and prodded peter. Peter gave a small smile. He then transformed into his animagus. A rat. He picked up the long hard stick that James had surreptitiously dropped by the tree during his lunch break in his mouth, and bounded towards the whomping willow. He prodded a special knot in the tree, and the tree fell still. 'Wow' was all that Remus could say. He had expected Peter to be knocked about, but to his surprise, it actually worked. He was impressed to say the least.
'Come Remmy' smiled Sirius, prodding his back to make him move forward, 'I'm getting a cold todger here!' Remus laughed, and carried on walking. He still felt nervous. He wanted to do this by himself. He didn't want to hurt his friends. They took off the cloak just before entering the tree, and they walked up the old steps leading to the front room of the shrieking shack. The four of them stood in silence for a while, just looking around the room. 'So' said Sirius, breaking the ice. 'What are we going to do now?'
'Well' said Remus, 'you three can just leave me here now, thanks. I'll see you tomorrow'. James looked at him, and then shook his head. 'Nah ah! That's not going to work on us. We said we'd come with you and stay with you didn't we? Don't want you to do this all on your own. That's why we became animagi! Isn't it?' he glanced at Sirius, who nodded enthusiastically. Remus gave a sickly smile at the two of them, and then shrugged. 'I don't want to hurt you lot' he said quietly to his shoes. When he looked up again, he couldn't see any of his friends. In their places stood a stag, a black dog and a rat. Remus looked around himself, as if embarrassed. 'guys, you don't have to....' he started to say, but the black dog came up to him, put his paws on his shoulders, and gave his face a hard push with his nose. 'Sirius! That hurt!' he said reproachfully, rubbing his cheek. Sirius gave a short, sharp bark. Remus sighed. 'Oh very well' he said, and he sat down.
'Let's just wait for the moon to arrive then shall we?'