The wound on Sirius' back was awful. Falling at a sharp angle onto the rocks that jutted from the ground caused one of them to become embedded sideways into his lower abdomen while still being attached to the floor. Worse, the cave-in that trapped Sirius' right leg prevented Lilly from being able to slide him sideways off of the infernal stone lance.
Lilly leaned Sirius forwards so that the teenager was slumped over on himself, exposing his torn back entirely. Uncorking the tube with her teeth, Lilly steeled her stomach and took some of the thick mixture in her hand. She swallowed bile as she reached her shaking pale hand into the open flesh of Sirius' back and sealed off the wounds inside. From there, she expended the majority of her medicine on the other surface wounds Sirius ailed from. His leg she did her best to help, but could not reach under the slate coloured stone far enough to touch the core of his injury.
There was a sound of wood cracking and metal groaning that drew Lilly's attention from her patient. Hugging Sirius' prone body to her chest with one arm, she cupped her mouth with the other and called out into the bleak. "Severus! Severus what was that?"
"The werewolf," Severus replied breathlessly. "I managed to lock him in the supply closet, but he's breaking the door." Severus watched in horror as silver fur moved behind the crack in the door. A sickly yellow eye appeared in the gap, its pupil a thin stroke of black. The pure, animalistic hatred in that cowardly eye caused a shiver to run down Severus' spine.
Remus moaned; a soft, whispering sound that could be nothing more than exhales of breath were it not for the pain in the Gryffindor's body language. Severus scampered to the place where the other boy lay, glad to be out of the sight of the monster in the closet.
"Remus," Severus fluttered over the Marauder, unsure of what to do. "What's wrong?" He muttered, knowing Remus could not answer him. Remus' skin had taken on an unhealthy transparency. Severus knew that symptom meant the werewolf venom had run the peak of its course, but his mind was so filled with other worries that he could hardly think straight.
Another splintering sound wrenched the room. Severus gulped in air, unsure of how much longer he would be able to. Hands shaking and knees weak, Severus drew his wand and pointed it steady at the large cupboard door. Another scream of wood filled the air, and the werewolf was now almost entirely free. It gnashed against the chains that held it, howling and snarling and frothing at the mouth. Severus swallowed, glancing at the window in the corner of the room. If he could just keep the beast off of them for a few more minutes, the sun would rise and the werewolf would become significantly less dangerous.
"Petrificus Totalis" Severus' voice shook, but the spell flowed unhindered from the end of his wand, the chains thickening and tightening around the monster that had almost broke loose. Severus breathed a sigh of relief for a moment, and then remembered the screaming he had heard and shuddered.
What kind of hell had their precious school been turned into while he was doing his homework? The Marauders had only come to the potions laboratory to tease him, and now they all could die together.
A peeling of sunlight glimmered through the dirty window; grey from the early time, but morning is morning. The werewolf's hulking form receded into that of a single dark wizard. The wizard shuddered, and then collapsed to the floor, still as solid as a stone statue. "Lilly? The werewolf changed back. I think we are going to be safe for now."
Lilly nodded, slowly stroking Sirius' forehead, then remembered that Severus could not see her. "I can hear you Severus," she called out. "Are you hurt? I heard something growling awfully loud."
"No, I am quite fine." Severus' voice sounded pinched, as though it was hard for him to speak.
"Severus, is something the matter?" Lilly moved to go and peek through the hole in the wall, but Severus replied as solidly as he could manage;
"Nothing is wrong. Stay with Sirius, he needs you more than I do right now."
"So you do need me."
"Lilly, this really is not a good time to be arguing. Just stay put! Please," Severus added as an afterthought, in a much softer voice. Lilly sighed, but knew that her friend would not budge.
"I will stay with Sirius." She glanced at the door, scowling "You know I am not so stupid as to leave him here to die alone."
"Do you suppose he will die then?" This was a new voice, one that made Lilly startle. It came from behind her, and she and she had to turn to see the newcomer. It was a pale skinned boy, with dark hair that nearly covered his grey eyes. He wore a no cloak, which instantly made Lilly defensive.