7

James woke at some point during the night and was completely unaware of his surroundings and what was going on. He went to sit upright in his bed but his head connected with something hard and hairy. He laid back down, grimacing in pain—it felt as if his head had split open.

'What the HELL,' came Sirius' whispered voice. 'Was THAT?'

'Sorry,' James hissed through his agony. 'But I could ask what the HELL you are doing on my bed!'

'Sorry,' Sirius repeated. 'I thought we were supposed to plot the map tonight?' he added in a hush.

James blinked several times, his eyes adjusting to the darkness. He could now make out the shape of Sirius' head just a few feet away. 'Lumos,' he muttered after grabbing his wand, casting light over Sirius and himself within the confines of his four poster. 'Try prodding my leg or something next time, mate. I think I might have brain damage.'

'You wouldn't be the only one,' Sirius groused as he rubbed his forehead. 'So are we going out or not?'

James hesitated. 'I think we've done all we can to prepare for tomorrow night,' he said slowly. 'Unless you've thought of a way to get the Whomping Willow to stop…well, whomping?'

Their plan was simple. Remus was set to depart the school again the following evening, and an experience in their first year had taught them that he—somehow—entered the Whomping Willow via the base of the tree. James had managed to evade the swinging branches to get close enough to touch the trunk in their first year, but being unable to stop the tree from swinging wildly, had subsequently been sent flying. That same night had lead to Snape following them into the grounds, and their first meeting with Gilles Rochefort, the notorious Death Eater and murderer wanted for the slaying of Frank Longbottom's family.

Now, James and Sirius had carefully filled their enchanted map with commands that would reveal anyone on the school grounds, so they could see if they were being followed. They had also populated the map with the few secret passages they knew of, but they did not know exactly where the passage under the willow was.

'Well, maybe we should just plan things out, then,' Sirius suggested. 'I think we should be at the tree before Remus gets there.'

'Why?' James asked.

'So we can get a good view of what Madam Pomfrey does to stop it moving,' Sirius explained. 'Remember we couldn't see last year? If we can get closer, maybe under your invisibility cloak, we could see and then we could follow Remus.'

James nodded enthusiastically. 'I agree, that's a good plan. We should do that. But then we won't be able to see him off when he has to go…'

'So? We'll be seeing him off on our own not long after,' Sirius explained confidently.

James nodded, seeing no holes in the logic. 'Sounds like we have ourselves a plan,' he said with a smile. 'We should get some sleep, tomorrow's going to be a long night.'

The next morning began with Defence Against the Dark Arts. It was a long, slow class as Professor Mondego had them thoroughly review case studies wherein Dark Wizards had attacked children for no apparent reason.

'It is important for you to realize,' Mondego had said as he stalked through the classroom, 'that everyone is vulnerable to the attack of a Dark Wizard.

'I'm more worried of being vulnerable to an attack from him,' Sirius whispered.

'Comments, Mr. Black?' Mondego said suddenly from the front of the class.

Sirius smiled. 'Just clarifying my notes with my study partner, Professor,' he said brightly. Mondego's eyes narrowed at Sirius but he said nothing more as he swept to the front of the room. Sirius adopted an ugly look on his face. 'He gives me the creeps,' he muttered.

'Dumbledore must trust him to allow him to teach here,' Remus said sagely from their side. 'That should be enough for all of us.'

'I suppose you're right,' Sirius said. 'Hey, did you hear The Slytherin Quidditch trials are tonight. Think we should go?'

This was part of the plan. James and Sirius were going under the pretense of going down to the Pitch, which was why they wouldn't be able to see Remus off. They had already had Peter ask Remus to help him with homework up until his time of departure that night.

'Could be a good idea to do some scouting, be better prepared for the year…but Remus is leaving tonight,' James observed.

Remus waved a hand. 'Actually, I'm impressed to hear you're taking Quidditch so seriously. I'll be fine with Peter, and I'll be back in just a few days.'

And so the plan was afoot. As the day wore on, James and Sirius perfected the finer points of their plan whenever Remus was out of sight. Once they were safely away from the castle on their way to the Quidditch Pitch, they would don James' cloak and make their way to the Whomping Willow. Here, the most irritating part of the plan would take place—as James and Sirius would need to sit under the cloak for several hours until nightfall, when Remus was to be escorted out of the castle. After determining exactly what Madam Pomfrey did to stop the Whomping Willow from thrashing about, they would double back, retrieve Peter, and come back as a trio to investigate what was under the tree.

'Outstanding,' said Sirius proudly as James finished relaying this plan for what felt like the thirteenth time. 'Very covert. I think we may have outdone ourselves this time.'

'Cheers,' James said with a grin.

'What do you think is really going on?' Sirius asked, his jovial tone gone.

James frowned. 'Are you having second thoughts?'

Sirius shook his head. 'Curiosity killed the cat, but I'm not a cat, so I should be safe,' he said with a smile. 'But I do wonder if maybe we don't realize quite what we're getting ourselves into.'

'Only one way to find out,' James said. 'Are we good to go for tonight?'

Sirius nodded right away. 'Of course,' he replied.

The day seemed to pass at an agonizing crawl, as James had expected it would. They had left for the Quidditch Pitch as planned, and had sat by the base of the Whomping Willow hidden underneath the Invisibility Cloak for several hours.

'…and Regulus just totally bought into this pure blood mania that they were spouting,' Sirius was explaining about his family background. 'And we've really been at odds ever since. It doesn't really surprise me that he ended up in Slytherin with all those other like-minded idiots, but still…I kind of hoped that I would somehow rub off on him.'

James nodded sympathetically. The sun was setting and dusk was arriving on the grounds. It wouldn't be long now.

'What do you think we're going to find out?' Sirius asked for what seemed like the hundredth time.

James rolled his eyes. 'I don't know, maybe he's a vampire,' he said sarcastically.

'Can't be,' Sirius replied. 'He comes out in daylight, doesn't he?' at James' surprised look, Sirius looked embarrassed. 'I've considered the idea,' he said quickly. 'That something about him is different. It wouldn't make a difference to me even if he was vampire.'

James chuckled. 'I doubt it's anything like that,' he said reassuringly. 'But it's definitely something they want to keep a secret.'

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than he saw the shapes of two people coming out of the entrance of Hogwarts. He elbowed Sirius in the ribs and they both watched attentively as the two shapes grew larger. It became apparent in very short order that they were Madam Pomfrey and Remus.

James and Sirius quickly moved to a different position at the side of the tree, side-long from where they remembered Madam Pomfrey standing last year. They stood quietly, the only sounds that greeted their ears were the noises made by their own nervous breathing. Madam Pomfrey stopped well short of swinging distance of the Whomping Willow, which was standing deceivingly still, almost as if it were a regular tree.

James watched with fascination as Madam Pomfrey waved her wand, and a bit of wood flew off the ground and smacked against a rather large knob at the base of the tree. One branch had been waving about idly at that point, and it instantly stopped. Madam Pomfrey then walked forward with Remus until they were at the base of the tree.

'I'll be back for you in the morning,' they heard her say and Remus nodded, stepping down once more into the entrance at the base of the tree. Madam Pomfrey left once again, and James noted that the branches of the tree began to sway back and forth once more.

'It's the knot on the tree,' Sirius breathed. 'It controls the branches! Pity she used a non-verbal spell.'

'Are you a wizard or not?' James chided. 'I think a simple Winguardium Leviosa will do the trick. But come on, we need to get Peter. Check the map—is there anyone about that we need to be wary of?'

Sirius pulled their map from his pocket and tapped it, muttering the phrase to unlock it. 'No,' he said after a few moments. 'Looks like Snivelly is in his common room, and Filch is near the kitchens. We should have a clear path back to Gryffindor tower.'

They took off at a jog back into the castle. They didn't want a moment wasted—they arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady to find Peter waiting for them. 'About time,' he said. 'It's nearly curfew. Did you have any luck?'

'Yeah, we know how to stop the tree branches. Now come on!' James hissed and Peter joined them underneath the invisibility cloak and they made their way back down the stairs with haste. 'Check the map,' James reminded Sirius who complied and informed them they were still all clear.

The moon had not yet risen in the sky as they crossed the darkening grounds of the school. They hurried back to the Whomping Willow which, in their absence, seemed to have begun waving its branches in a slightly more menacing manner.

'So…you've figured this out, have you?' Peter asked nervously.

'Fairly certain,' James said. 'Let's give it a shot.' He scanned the ground until he located a fairly large sized branch and he pointed his wand at it from underneath the cloak. 'Winguardium Leviosa,' he murmured and the branch floated into the air. He motioned it towards the tree and it glided over silently. The three of them watched intently as it fortunately made its way through the waving branches and collided with the knot at the base of the tree. At once, the branches stopped moving.

'Go!' Sirius hissed and the three of them rushed to the base of the tree. Once there, the hole at the foot of the trunk was obvious, and it was also obviously small.

'One at a time. Peter, you first,' James hissed. Peter obliged without question and sank into the hole. Sirius went next, and James followed at last, pocketing his invisibility cloak as he did so. 'Looks like we were right about this being a secret passage,' he mused as they found themselves in a tunnel that sloped slowly upwards.

'Wonder where it leads?' Sirius asked.

'You should put this on the map as long as we're here,' Peter suggested.

James shook his head with amazement. He was periodically surprised by the insight that Peter had to offer. 'Good idea,' he complimented and even in the dark, it was evident that Peter looked very pleased with himself.

They walked in silence until they arrived at the apex of the tunnel, leading into a room that appeared to be lit by magic. There was no sign of candles, lanterns, or even windows or doors that lead to the outside world. James, Sirius and Peter stepped into the room silently. Peter opened his mouth to speak but was silenced instantly by Sirius, who clapped his hand over Peter's mouth.

James and Sirius traded glances and nodded. They moved forward, looking around earnestly for some sign of Remus.

They found him sitting quietly in a chair in the next room, staring at the floor absently.

'Hello, Remus,' James said brightly.

Remus leapt from his chair, whirling to face them and they were alarmed to see his face white with a combination of rage and fear. 'I—how—what are you DOING here?' Remus bellowed.

'We've come to see you,' Sirius said brightly. 'Does your Mum visit you here?'

'You don't understand—this is foolish, you shouldn't be here! Leave! Now!' Remus shouted.

'Will you stop shouting? We snuck out, in case you hadn't noticed, we'd like to not be caught by a teacher,' James chided.

Remus stepped forward, looking quite demented. 'You have no idea what you are doing,' he hissed. 'Get out of here now before someone gets hurt!'

Sirius frowned. 'Are you threatening us, Loony?'

'NO!' Remus yelled. 'I don't want to hurt any of you—but I will if you don't leave!'

James' mouth had gone dry. 'Remus, what's going on? What aren't you telling us?'

Remus looked positively panic stricken. 'You have to go, before the moon comes up—I promise, if you leave now I'll explain everything when I get back, but you simply HAVE TO GO—'

He cut off in mid sentence and seemed to suddenly go rigid. His eyes went wide and he was grimacing in apparent agony. He began to hyperventilate and he looked quite deranged, spitting from his mouth as he inhaled and exhaled rapidly.

'Re—Remus?' Peter asked tentatively.

'He's having a fit,' Sirius breathed.

'We should get a teacher,' James said, but then Remus howled—a sound that made the hairs on the backs of all of their necks stand up at once. It was an anguished and angry sound that carried a deep sense of forboding.

'What on…' Sirius breathed but again, he was struck silent by what he saw. The three of them remained paralyzed on the spot as Remus fell to the floor and began thrashing about in a most inhuman fashion. His legs seemed to elongate and bend backwards at an impossible angle as at the same time, his neck and head seemed to elongate. That same chilling howl was crowing from his mouth as this all occurred.

'Guys—' Peter was shouting in panic.

It was now becoming clear what was happening. Fur had sprouted all over Remus' body as his clothing ripped and shredded, tearing and bursting off of him as he grew to several times his normal size. His teeth had sharpened and grown into fangs, and his eyes had become the size of orbs, black as the night sky outside had been. Finally, the transformation seemed complete, and James, Remus and Peter were left facing a very large, very angry looking wolf.

'Werewolf,' breathed Sirius.

The wolf bared its teeth and roared at them. 'Look out!' James cried as it suddenly lunged forward. He bodily shoved Sirius and Peter away and dove to the side himself as the wolf careened between them, hitting a wall with no apparent regard for its own well being. It turned around and roared once more.

Peter had drawn his wand, but Sirius batted it aside. 'Don't hurt him!' he yelled. 'We need to get out of here, now!' he bellowed.

'I'll distract him—get to the tunnel!' James yelled and he backed further into the house. 'Lumos,' he cried and his wand ignited. 'Oi! You! Come and get me! I taste good!'

The wolf turned, snarling, and advanced slowly on James.

'That's right,' James breathed. 'I taste like chicken, I promise…come on!'

Over the wolf's shoulders, James saw Sirius and Peter making their way to the tunnel entrance. He would need to move exceptionally quick. As the wolf reared and prepared to advance, James flicked his wand and shouted 'Conjunctivitus!'

The spell hit the wolf full in the face and it thrashed into a wall, wailing and howling in agony. James sprinted around and dove into the tunnel where Sirius and Peter were waiting. 'Go! Run! Now!' he yelled and they crawled, crouched and ran as fast as they could through the small tunnel until they arrived back at the entrance underneath the Whomping Willow.

'How do we stop the branches?' Peter fretted.

'Who cares, just get out! The tree will do us less harm than he will!' James yelled.

He lead the way. No sooner had he extracted himself from the ground than he was smacked across the grass, rolling and tumbling away from the tree. He was quickly joined by Sirius and Peter, who tumbled and fell next to him. They lay there for a moment, panting, before James pulled out his invisibility cloak over them.

'Oh boy,' Sirius whispered after a moment.

'What just happened?' Peter moaned.

James chewed his lip. 'Well,' he said with an attempt at humor. 'That explains a fair bit.'