The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found? – J. B. Priestly
…..
A wide, silvery full moon rose slowly over Hogwarts. It cast a peculiar glow across the grounds, the light devoid of any warmth or substance. Although this night was noticeably brighter than the one before, the moon failed to illuminate the small but very significant movements of two students running along an overgrown path towards a notoriously dangerous tree.
Louisa held her wand in front of her body; its tip just bright enough to reveal fragments of the uneven terrain she was stumbling upon. In front of her was Lily, with the Marauder's Map hugged tightly to her chest. Every so often she would glance down at it with her own illuminated wand before hopelessly peering out into the encircling darkness.
As if simultaneously appearing as a beacon of hope and a foreshadowing of precarious things to come, the whomping willow came into view as they hiked along the forgotten path.
"Bugger it," Lily exclaimed, pausing as they reached the top of the hill. "They've gone into the tunnel."
"Now what?" Louisa asked, trying to catch her breath.
"We go in after them," Lily said, making for the tree.
"Lily – wait!" Louisa cried, pulling her back by the hood of her cloak. "For goodness sake, don't just go walking into the whomping willow."
"But it's completely docile!"
"Because we aren't within its reach. A few more steps and we'll be thrashed into the ground."
Lily turned, taking Louisa's hand. "If the boys have gone through, then they must have put some kind of spell on it."
"Why don't we just wait here for them? How long can they possibly mess around down there for?"
Lily let out a small laugh. "You are infinitely lucky that your dorm is not opposite theirs. Come on, Lou, we have to try!"
"Lily, they've clearly been doing this for a long time," she rationalised, pointing to the map. "Who knows how old this thing is! Why don't you confront James about it tomorrow?"
"James has a way of talking himself out of trouble after he's caused it," she insisted, pulling Louisa along. "If we catch them in the middle of their…ridiculous club meeting then James – no – all of them will finally have to shape up."
The strong, wiry branches of the willow creaked and swayed as if in a lulling stupor. Louisa tensed as they moved to the stalk, unable to tear her eyes from the multitude of threatening limbs above them. She ran through healing spells in her mind that would provide some sort of relief or protection from the deep cuts, colossal bruising and shattered bones they were inevitably going to sustain. It seemed, however, that Lily's assumption was correct; the tree had been miraculously subdued, but by which spell, Louisa could not think.
Lily crouched at the base of the tree, the light from her wand revealing a concealed opening. She brushed away the foliage around it and stuck her wand in further, showing a narrow, curved path carving its way through a tunnel.
"Right," Lily muttered, positioning herself to slide down. "I'll go first."
She disappeared into the dark hole, but Louisa could hear her shuffling around at the bottom.
"You can stand up down here," she called from within.
Louisa took one last look back at Hogwarts, in all its brilliant, candlelit glory, before jumping in. She slid along a dirt path for a moment before coming to a stop at Lily's feet who pulled her up by the shoulders and brushed the dirt away from her robes.
"Alright?"
"I will be once we stop breaking every rule this school has implemented," she said, giving a weak laugh.
"I promise I don't normally behave like this," Lily assured as they walked along, wands braced in front of them. "But, well, James…"
"…is important to you." Louisa finished her sentence.
"I didn't say that."
"You didn't have to."
They continued along through the tunnel, stumbling over dips in the ground and swatting away hanging roots from the earth above. As they neared the end, they found that the tunnel abruptly terminated in a wall of soil where a set of rotting wooden steps led up to a trap door. What was above the door, they suspected, was most likely the bottom floor of the shrieking shack. Together, they climbed the steps and hoisted it open with a mighty shove.
They poked their heads through cautiously, looking around. They found themselves in a dark, musty cellar where another rotting staircase led to the main house above. They climbed through, their hands dirtying from the damp, stone floor.
"Why would anyone want to come in here?" Lily asked, waving her wand over the space.
"Lumos Maxima," Louisa uttered.
A blinding flash of light filled the cellar. Louisa circled the room, increasingly intimidated by what she saw: the walls, made of reinforced brick, bore large scratch marks all along them, and there was old, discarded furniture piled in a corner that looked as if it had been smashed and torn apart with some kind of instrument. Something did not feel right.
"Lily, listen," Louisa said, pointing to the floor above them. They both ceased their movements.
There was an alarming amount of movement occurring somewhere in the shack. Where there should have been the voices and laughter of four schoolboys, instead, they could only hear loud crashes and faint, but distinct growling. The girls looked at each other. Lily pulled out the map and examined it, confused.
"It says that they're in here," she whispered, walking over to Louisa. The markers of the four boys all moved around the confines of the shack outline. Dust and soot filtered down from the floor above them, settling on the parchment. They looked up. Something loud and heavy was standing right on top of them.
After a moment of dead silence, in which neither girl dared to breathe, an ear-splitting howl pierced through the structure. Lily shoved the map back into her cloak and they dashed to the trap door, trying to pull it open. It was jammed.
From the doorway at the top of the stairs, a monstrous figure appeared. It was a wolf-like creature, only much larger and with a shorter snout. Its form was somewhat skeletal but sinewy, and its limbs impressively long. The most distinguishing and terrifying feature of all was its eyes, which emitted a faint glow, but were unmistakably human. Louisa knew within a mere second of laying eyes upon this thing that it was one of the most feared magical creatures known to the wizarding world - it was a Werewolf.
The girls froze, caught in its penetrating gaze. On all fours, it descended the rotting staircase snarling and unflinching, its intention very clear. Louisa could not be sure if it was Lily who was so violently shaking next to her, or if she herself was trembling so much that she was affecting her friend. She reached into her pocket slowly, curling her fingers around her wand. The creature moved to strike them. It pushed up onto its hind legs and stretched its reach wide to swing down. Just as Louisa pulled her wand out, a large, black dog launched itself onto the werewolf from behind. They toppled over, the black dog struggling to pin the werewolf to the ground. They rolled towards Louisa and Lily, who dove to the side and away from the trap door.
A great stag appeared at the top of the stairs. It bypassed Louisa and Lily with a confused glance before thrusting its antlers at the werewolf, fastening it to the wall. The black dog scrambled to its feet and turned towards the girls. It bounded towards them, paralysing Louisa with its startling, and oddly familiar, grey eyes. Lily pulled Louisa by the arm and they sprinted up the staircase and into the shabby corridor of the shack. It seemed to lean on an angle, disorienting them as they searched for an exit.
The black dog caught up to them, its teeth latching on to the back of Louisa's robes. It pulled with immense strength, trying to drag her back to the cellar.
"Lou!" Lily cried, grabbing onto her friend. With her other hand free, she attempted to repel the dog with her wand, shooting spells that it dodged with some difficulty.
Louisa's robes tore and the girls were thrown forward into the living room. A jutting nail from the doorframe sunk into Louisa's arm as they fell, tearing a large gash into her skin. She cried out, falling to the ground.
"Oh my goodness, Lou," Lily stuttered, crouching next to her. "This is all my fault. I'm so sorry."
Louisa shook her head, unable to speak and almost blinded by the pain. "No...it's...not," she uttered, pressing on the wound with her robes. She looked up at her friend and gasped, "Lily!"
The werewolf leapt into the room and swiped at Lily, knocking her into the corner of a ruined armchair. Her head impacted against a blunt wooden corner and she fell unconscious instantly. It rounded on Louisa, teeth bared and claws flexing. She fumbled around for her wand, dizzy from her wound. A little rat scuttled past with her wand in its mouth, dropping it in front of her before scurrying off under the furniture.
The stag appeared once more, launching itself into the werewolf. It threw the beast into the next room before looking desperately at the unconscious Lily. The black dog jumped across the armchair and bit into the top of Lily's jumper. It dragged her out of the room and back down the corridor.
"Lily!" Louisa cried, wobbling to her feet. She stumbled after the dog, which was moving at a remarkable pace considering it was pulling a fully-grown human being. Down in the cellar, it stopped next to the trap door, looking up at Louisa. It whined, pawing at the door. The dog did not appear to be an aggressor as she once thought. She could hear the stag and the werewolf thrashing around close by. She pulled her wand out and tried to point it at the door, swaying a little. She swallowed and focused with all of her strength.
"Confringo," she choked, and the door exploded, chunks of wood flying in all directions.
Louisa jumped down first, pulling Lily down next with her uninjured arm. Lily's unconscious body fell onto her and they toppled into the dirt. The dog leapt down after them. It pulled Lily away from Louisa and back down the tunnel towards the whomping willow. Louisa followed warily, looking back constantly to make sure the werewolf was not giving chase.
The first snow of the season was falling through the night as Louisa climbed her way out from beneath the tree. The air was sharp, the grass crisp beneath her feet. She knelt beside Lily, who began to stir. She looked to the dog that watched her intently, its grey eyes boring into hers. It had not escaped without injury. There was a small amount of blood dripping from one side, and several shallow gashes ran over its head. A strange, bewildering thought crossed her mind; a thought which she knew to be impossible, and yet, there it was.
Flimsy snowflakes settled over her hair and eyelashes as she fished for the map in Lily's cloak. She unfolded it, hands shaking, and laid it on the grass. Her eyes glazed over the parchment before settling on a name. It was the name of a boy she had come to grow immeasurable feelings for, who irritated and frustrated her like no other and whom she had quite possibly and very unexpectedly fallen in love with. It was the name of a boy who stood opposite her as the first snow fell and melted into the ground beneath them. Louisa looked up from the map and into those grey eyes, searching.
"Sirius?"
Slowly, in one fluid movement, the large, black dog transformed into a disheveled, shaggy haired seventeen-year-old boy. Sirius stood before her, breathing heavily, his expression full of confusion, anger and guilt. Louisa blinked, her body going rigid with shock. She swallowed, trying to find her words. Instead, she reached for her wand, struggling to remember a healing spell for Lily's concussion, though she could not keep a firm grip.
"Lou?"
"We'll be ok…"
"Please look at me."
"I'll get Madame Pomfrey."
She tried to stand, swaying. Sirius caught her from behind, his arms holding onto her tightly. She let him.
"I'm so sorry, so sorry," he kept murmuring into her ear. "I don't understand how you…where did you find the map…"
"The werewolf," Louisa stammered, "I…I just need a moment…"
Sirius lowered himself down to the ground with Louisa until they were both kneeling. He moved around to look at her, cupping her face with both of his hands.
"Listen to me," he said gently, suppressing a very apparent anxiety, "I'm an unregistered Animagus. So are James and Peter. And Remus…well, you understand now. But no one knows, Lou. Dumbledore, McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey are the only people who know about Remus. But even they're unaware of everything else."
Louisa nodded, trying to comprehend all that he was revealing.
Sirius continued, "I have no right to ask this of you, and you are far more honourable than I could ever hope to be, but please-"
"-I promise," Louisa said, "I'll tell no one."
"I will explain everything to you tomorrow," he swore, "but right now I have to get back."
"You can let go," she insisted, trying to pry his hands from her face.
"Any excuse," he teased quietly. He glanced down at the horrendous gash in her arm, frowning. "This should never have happened."
Next to them, Lily groaned. Louisa reached for wand before looking back at Sirius. "Go," she said.
He stood reluctantly, moving away to transform.
"Sirius," she called. He paused, facing her. " 'The things we hide are the things most worth protecting.' "
He smiled at her, eyes crinkling every so slightly. Once his body had slowly morphed back into the black dog, he shook and ruffled his fur and bounded back towards the whomping willow.
Louisa took a deep breath and raised her wand to the sky. "Periculum!" she cried, sending a multitude of red sparks upwards where they hovered and flashed brilliantly.
Lily tried to sit up, holding a hand to her temple.
"Hold tight," Louisa reassured her as she wrapped her robes around her wound, "We're safe now."
…..
In the hospital wing, Louisa lay on her side, injured but treated arm outstretched to Lily. Lily squeezed her hand tightly, a stream of tears flowing out both corners of her eyes and down onto the feathery pillow beneath her head.
Lily had awoken baffled and terrified just as the teachers had placed her in the care of Madame Pomfrey. While she was being comforted and treated, Louisa had endured a calm, but very firm interrogation from Dumbledore and McGonagall as to why two seemingly responsible seventh years could have possibly ended up outside the castle grounds at night. Louisa did her best to deflect any questions concerning other students and even managed to stash the Marauder's Map inside some Glittering Wood-moss before help arrived. She lied her way through a vague story about Lily and Louisa believing they had seen some first years sneaking out of the castle, and in an attempt to investigate, they had taken a violent tumble through the darkness. The explanation was feasible enough, but Louisa knew that it had not fooled either teacher. Their proximity to the whomping willow and Lily's terror upon awakening was evidence enough that they had seen something. And so Louisa, Dumbledore and McGonagall found themselves at an impasse, with the teachers having no choice but to resign their interrogation for the night.
"It's all my fault," Lily sniffed, looking up at the ceiling, "I'm so sorry, Lou."
"Lily…there was no way you nor I could have possibly known…"
She paused, unsure whether to continue. How much had Lily actually come to understand given how long she had been unconscious for? Louisa herself was still trying to grasp all she had seen and learned. Saying it out loud meant that she was certain, but witnessing something truly terrifying and extraordinary did not always mean that one could comprehend it.
"How much do you remember?" She asked, hesitantly.
Lily let out a tired laugh. "I didn't hit my head quite that hard," she confided, "There was a werewolf in the shack and I led us right to him."
"Him?"
"To Remus."
"Ah…"
"Something clicked in my mind the moment I saw him tonight," she said, "His name was on the map, a full moon was in the sky, and after years of watching him become sick at the same time every month…well, it all fell into place. I can't imagine what he must go through every time." Letting go of Louisa's hand, she brought her fingers to her face, wiping her tears. She rolled onto her side carefully to face Louisa. "But why did you lie to McGonagall and Dumbledore?"
"You heard that?"
"Most of it. Surely they would both be aware of Remus' condition already. And they ought to know about the wild animals inhabiting the shack."
"Yes, well," Louisa started, trying to think of a clever way around her questioning.
"And where were the boys? Perhaps they were flying around on broomsticks above us?"
Louisa was genuinely astounded that Lily had not yet realized the connection, but then again, Louisa couldn't quite believe it herself. It did make sense that Sirius' Animagus form would be a big, black dog, however. She recalled several years ago, in Defence Against the Dark Arts, how terribly frustrating her first lesson in conjuring a patronus had been. And while she was on the brink of witnessing her charm take its true, animal form, Sirius' big, shaggy dog had come bounding through hers, dissipating it into the air around her.
Lily tried to sit up, peering over at Louisa. "You're hiding something," she pried, "You have that look in your eyes."
Louisa shook her head insistently. She had made a promise to Sirius that she would not tell a soul, and while it was probably justifiable that Lily knew the truth too, it had to come from one of the boys.
"I think we should wait," she said, carefully choosing her words, "Until we see the boys. I'm sure they'll want to speak for themselves."
Lily looked concerned, but said nothing more on the matter.
After an hour so, when Lily had fallen asleep, Louisa stepped out of bed and asked Madame Pomfrey to escort her back to the Hufflepuff common room. With the help of modern magical medicine, her arm had healed almost completely. She was finding it near impossible to fall asleep in the wide-open hospital wing and sought a comfort that only her dormitory would be able to provide. Whenever something traumatic or eventful had occurred in Louisa's life, she had always found it easier to hide herself away and focus on coping alone. She knew deep down that this was an exceptionally unhealthy way of dealing with her problems, but it had always been instilled into her that her problems were her own, and no one else's to bear. As she crawled into her bed, taking care not to wake the other seventh years, she felt as though the warmth she was experiencing was not from her feathery quilt or thick sheets, but from the memory of Sirius holding her body against his own.