A few days before the full moon, James was lying in bed, wide awake while everyone else was asleep. He wouldn't admit it t the others but Remus' lie had never left his mind; and so he lay awake, as he had been for the last month, thinking about why his friend would lie to him. It occurred to him that the manner of how Remus had been injured might not be the only lie. Maybe he was also lying about where he was going. After all, his mother had supposedly been sick since they arrived at Hogwarts three years ago, yet not once had Remus mentioned St. Mungo's, and surely, a long-term illness could only be treated there?
As the sun came up, his friends started stirring and James hoped he could maybe get an hour's sleep before having to go to his thursday classes. But still he could not turn his brain off, and soon they were late for breakfast, without James having slept at all.
During Charms, the first lesson of the day, it occurred to James that every time Remus came back from a trip, he was spotted with Madam Pomfrey. This would be understandable if his mother was really sick, but now that he had doubts...
These thoughts kept James awake for another few hours, but to the amusement of Sirius and Peter, he fell asleep during History of magic, after which Remus was summoned to Professor Mcgonagall's office. He only rejoined his classes halfway through Potions, attracting curious glances from his friends.
"I'm going to see my mother this weekend." He explained quickly before catching up on the lesson with Lily.
On Saturday, early in the evening, Remus prepared a small bag with everything he'd need, under James' secretly stern eye, before waiting in the commonroom for Madam Promfrey to come and get get him. When she finally arrived, Remus rapidly said goodbye, then followed the Healer out.
As soon as the picture closed, James sprinted to his dorm and grabbed the invisibility cloak he had hidden earlier. In a matter of seconds he had returned downstairs, where a confused Peter and Sirius waited.
"I'm going to follow him." He announced
"You can't follow him, he's your friend!" Peter gasped.
"Fine, stay here. Sirius?"
Sirius hesitated for a second before agreeing, then rushed to get under the cloak. They sped out of the room and down the corridor as quietly as they could, occasionally tripping over each other's feet, until finally, Remus and Madam Pomfrey came into sight. The nurse was guiding Remus through thea corridors, holding him by the shoulders. The twisted and turned and finally emerged from the school when Remus suddenly cried out and fell to the ground. Madam Pomfrey tugged at him until he rose, slightly trembling, and they ran, straight towards the Whomping Willow.
The hidden boys watched as she drew her wand and a small branch that laid on the floor rose and struck a gnarled root, and the battering branches of the tree stopped. Remus ran towards it's base and disappeared into a hole between the roots.
"Good luck!" His guide called after him, before turning back and walking straight past the two boys.
"What the hell?" Muttered Sirius, astonished.
"I don't know. Come on." And the boys approached the deadly tree, whose branches were moving once again.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
The stick levitated and stuck the root, creating safe passage for the boys, who entered the tunnel underneath. Creating light from their wands, they trod slowly, careful not to trip. Suddenly, a scream filled the tunnel and made Sirius drop his wand, which he retrieved quickly.
"What the hell was that?" He asked, shaking
"I don't know... it wasn't Remus though, that's good... right?"
"Uh... James didn't that sound like the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade?"
James didn't answer. They agrees that wherever the tunnel lead, whatever was on the other end, that was where Remus was, and the might need their help. Wands at the ready, they proceeded. Before long, the reached a room made of old grey wood, hardly furnished at all.
"Let's take the cloak off... if it comes to a fight, we'll be better off without it."
Sirius nodded, eyes wide and wand shaking in his hand.
"R - Remus?" He called quietly.
Suddenly, the wall exploded and a giant grey dog came skidding into the room. The boys froze at the sight of the beast, barely noticing the deep fresh cus on it's side and the blood dripping around it's paws.
"James that's a - "
"I know."
The werewolf sprang, it's jaws wide and it's claws gleaming, but the young wizards were faster.
"Stupefy! "
"Impedimenta!" They cried, sending the beast flying the other way, straight through another wall. The boys turned and fled as soon as their curses hit the creature, and were already back in the tunnel by the time it had gotten back up and shaken itself off. The ran as fast as they could, looking back frequently until finally the, night sky was visible. They only stopped, however, when the Whomping Willow swung a huge branch at James' head. He managed to duck in time, but a smaller branch came up behind him and tripped him. Sirius managed to drag James away from the murderous plant, and they kept running, only stopping once they reached their peaceful dorm.
Catching their breaths, they sat silently on their beds for a moment, before heading downstairs to discuss what they had just witnessed. There was no way they could sleep after such an overload of adrenaline.
