(11) Secret Of The Tree

Fortunately, the last two classes, Potions & History Of Magic, did not require wands. That evening, James headed back outside with Remus, Peter & Sirius in tow. Peter soon found the other half of the wand stamped into the mud around the oak tree. It was hard to get it out since the ground had frozen over in fall's first thick frost.

Remus led them all into the library where they asked Madam Pince for a roll of spell-o-tape. Argus Filch, the caretaker of the castle itself glared at them for interrupting. He was a squib, one born to a magical family, but having no power at all. He hated the students, always messing up his castle. The students didn't like him much either since he oversaw ninety percent of their detentions & always told on them. Remus gingerly handed the tape roll back after attaching the two halves, trying to look innocent under Argus Filch's unwavering gaze.

James held up his wand, staring at it. "I'm expected to go through the rest of the year … with this?"

"Get permission to leave the grounds," Remus offered.

"Won't be until Christmas," James said. "This is barely the first week of October. I'm doomed."

"You'll be fine," Remus said. "It seems to have fit together alright."

"Let's hope," James finally put the ruined wand away.

"So Sirius," Remus began. "Where did you go earlier today?"

"What do you mean?"

"We had about half an hour left after that big fight," Remus said. "I took James & Peter back out to the tree for chocolate. Where were you?"

Sirius smiled. "Well, now that it's official, I was actually in class."

"Right," Remus & James said.

"No, really," Sirius insisted.

"Sirius, we have the same classes," James said. "Ergo, we have the same timetable."

"I added one," Sirius explained, looking at Remus. "Muggle studies."

James & Remus stared at him. "Oh!" Remus finally said.

When James found his voice, he said, "Your family hates you enough, Sirius. You really like feeding the fire, don't you?"

"Well, I have two impure friends to watch out for," Sirius waved a hand at Remus as Peter came up behind him. "So I might as well learn."

"Hmm," Remus & Peter shared a look. James rolled his eyes.

"What?"

"Nothing!" The guilty trio yelped much too fast.

"Look, don't worry about my family," Sirius said, mistaking their strange behaviour as worry for his own safety. "I can handle them." He strode off ahead.

James looked at Remus & Peter, shaking his head. "Sooner or later, he's going to find out."

"Yeah well," Remus said, slightly nervous. "We'll deal with that when we get to it."

The next day passed without incident for once. Finally, it was the weekend. Remus had gone quiet for most of the next two days, nervous about Sunday. His first full moon away from home was nearly upon him. At least he had already made his excuse. He wondered how long he could keep up the 'mama is sick' scenario & for the first time in his life, he was glad that his family wasn't so well off. He had seen other parents visit with their children occasionally, since they lived nearby or were just passing through. At least, being so far away & with money being an issue, his mother couldn't suddenly walk into Hogwarts & unwittingly blow his cover.

All too soon, the time came to 'leave' the school for the next couple of days. James & Sirius took little notice, explaining to Peter that Mrs. Lupin was rather sick & Remus had received a summons home a few days ago. Remus left the tower easily Sunday evening & hurried down to the hospital wing.

Madam Pomfrey was waiting for him by the back door of the infirmary. She opened it & looked out. Seeing no one around, she led him out & down a hill. The sun was setting & the blackness of the forest was pressing in around the castle. Remus suddenly relaxed his jaws with a crack. Being this nervous, he knew it would be a bad moon rising. The head nurse led him down to a great tree that began to shudder as they approached. Remus stared at it. He had never gone to actually look at it before now, purposely avoiding it, especially with James Potter around.

Madam Pomfrey pulled a long stick out of the underbrush nearby. "Alright, this is the Whomping Willow. Don't get too close until you have a long stick handy. Just prod the knot," she suddenly darted forward, jammed the knot hard with the stick & stood by, beckoning Remus over. He saw a gaping hole between the roots. It went down into the ground. "That tunnel has no detours. It goes straight to the shack in Hogsmeade. Do you want me to go with you?"

Remus shook his head. "I can take it from here."

Madam Pomfrey remained silent for a moment. "I uh, I heard you can do Accio."

"Picked that up from Papa."

"Alright," Pomfrey said, prodding the knot again to keep the tree frozen. "Try this. Lumos." The tip of her wand glowed bright.

Remus held out his own wand. "Lumos." It flickered. He shook it again. "Lumos!" It barely glowed.

"I should go with you."

"Non (No)," Remus stubbornly refused. "I can see quite well in the dark thanks to ... that wolf of mine. This little glow is all I need."

"It's honestly a pretty good beam for a first year," Madam Pomfrey said. "Hogwarts doesn't teach it until the spring term & that's only the theory of it. Lumos is more of a second year charm."

"Hmm, I'll be ahead of class," Remus half smiled. "Again. I better go." He began his decent into the hole.

"I'll come in for you when the sun is up," Pomfrey called in after him. "You just go to bed the moment you're back. I'll be there."

"Oui Madam (Yes Ma'am)," Remus tried not to let her mothering annoy him. She had good intentions after all. But truth be told, he's being doing this since four years old. The only difference was the location. He kept trying to tell his wolf that. Oh, this would be a very bad moon indeed. The wolf was already rearing within, angry at the disruption to routine. "Au moins tu ne peux tuer personne ici (At least you can't kill any one in here)." Remus spoke aloud as he travelled the dimly lit tunnel.

/Je peux te tuer (I can kill you)./

"C'est bon. T'en as fini avec moi (That's fine. You'll go down with me)." Remus smiled at the silence. Any victory was welcome. He felt another emotion rising within. Confusion. Remus suddenly found stairs & began climbing.

/Tu n'as plus peur de moi (You no longer fear me)./

"Tu te fous de moi (Are you kidding me)?" Remus spoke aloud. "Je n'arrive pas à m'habituer à la douleur que tu m'infliges. Finissons-en avec ça (I can never get used to the pain you cause. Let's just get this over with)."

/Non. Tu n'as plus peur de moi (No. You don't fear me)./ After a long silence the inner voice continued. /Tu me hais (You hate me)./

"Tu as tué mon frère (You murdered my brother)!" Remus shot back, cracking the top of his head suddenly against a trapdoor that appeared above him. He rubbed the bump with one hand while shoving with the other. It flew back with a clang. He climbed out & put the cover back. "Je t'ai dis que je te détruirais. Maman et papa vont trouver un remède. T'as juste à attendre (I told you I'll destroy you. Mama & Papa will find a cure. Just you wait)!" He shook his head, throwing the voice out, then glanced around his new place.

It had more than one floor. That was a new concept. The main floor, on which he had entered, contained the trap door to the tunnel. There was a wooden table & one chair in the far corner. A staircase going upwards was on the left. Remus ran up into what could only be considered a bedroom. There was a bed. Part of the wall was built as a cupboard. Remus huffed, angry with the wolf. He put his clothes into the cupboard & went back downstairs. There were windows here but like his den at home, no one could see in & he couldn't break out. He suspected that his own father had sent over instructions on how to safeguard the den of a werewolf pup.

Judging by the direction of which the windows faced, Remus soon sat cross-legged on the floor where the first rays of moonlight would come in. The sooner it was gotten over with the better. As the first war in the new den between human & wolf began, Remus vaguely wondered if the wolf would indeed kill him before losing his mind completely to the beast.

"You're finally awake."

Remus stared into the eyes of Madam Pomfrey. "... ... ... Where...?"

"In my hospital," Madam Pomfrey answered, applying something to his left hand. Remus blinked in slow motion.

"I guess I spoke to soon," Madam Pomfrey said, feeling his brow. She was on the opposite side of the bed all of a sudden & Remus had no idea how she got there. "You went right back to sleep a while ago. It's been nearly nine hours."

"How long?"

"Nine hours."

"Mm Mm," Remus tried to shake his head, thought better of it as his neck threatened to crack & tried again. "How ... long? Day?"

Madam Pomfrey stared at him for a while. "You've been out for almost four days."

Remus took his time processing that. He finally said, "Mm, never … four."

"Mr. Lupin, this is Wednesday evening," Madam Pomfrey said. "Are your shifts always this bad?"

Forgetting about his delicate neck—what had that wolf done?!—Remus slowly shook his head. "Never ... four."

Madam Pomfrey sighed, deciding to speak to Remus when he was more lucid. She poured out a glass of water. "Here, try this." She helped him drink a little a time, using a spoon. "Go back to sleep. You're past the worst now. We'll talk tomorrow." She didn't have to tell him anything as he had already passed out.

When Remus woke up again, a late afternoon sun was pouring in. Looking around, he saw that he was in a room by himself, not in one of the hospital beds with curtains drawn. He dimly remembered something about four days but dismissed the very notion of it. That had been a crazy dream & nothing more. He never passed out that long after full moon.

The door opened & Madam Pomfrey came in, carrying a dinner tray. Remus pushed himself up a little to sit against the pillow. Pomfrey stared at him. "Any one in your condition ought to be passed out still."

Remus scratched the side of his nose, then shrugged. "I'm used to it. Any chocolate?"

Madam Pomfrey sat the tray on the table beside Remus. "I received a letter from your parents this past week, saying that you like chocolate after a shift." She picked up a candy wrapped in gold, opened it & held it out. Inside was a truffle chocolate, swirled with white, black & brown.

Remus deflated with a satisfied growl. The head nurse stepped back from the bed. Remus smiled apologetically. "Don't worry. He's happy. Chocolate cures everything, doesn't it?" He held out his hand. Madam Pomfrey let the truffle tip out of the wrapper into his waiting palm. After eating it, Remus muttered. "That'll shut the thing up for a while. So what time is it?"

Madam Pomfrey stared at him. He should be dead. All that blood in the shack. The length he was out. He really should be dead, yet here he sat nibbling chocolate & having a simple conversation. "It's almost supper time."

"Hmm, hence the tray," Remus opened the lid to find a chicken pie. "So how long was I out anyway? I dreamed you said it was four days."

"Um, Mr. Lupin?" Madam Pomfrey stepped closer to him. "That wasn't a dream. It's Thursday today."

Remus lowered his knife & fork to look straight at her. He suddenly laughed. "Good one, but I never pass out more than a day, sometimes—rarely but sometimes—two days, if it's a bad moon."

"Yeah," Madam Pomfrey let out a breath. "It was a bad moon alright."

Remus shrugged a little again, feeling his neck seize up a bit. "Figured so." He cut open the pie & pulled out the meat to eat first.

"How much do you remember of that night?"

Remus suddenly stopped tearing his way through a chicken breast. "Hmm, nothing actually. I usually have bits & pieces. Not this time though."

"When did you shift back in the morning?"

"When ever the sun rays touched me," Remus said, finishing off the chicken.

"When?"

"Well," Remus stopped eating again. "I'm not getting your question. It's when the sun touches...tou..." He suddenly realised, he didn't remember shifting back. "I...Madam Pomfrey." Suddenly not hungry, he pushed the tray aside. He had never forgotten transforming to wolf or back to human again. He felt every shift. The ripping of one body into another was impossible to forget.

Until now.

"Mhm," Madam Pomfrey nodded her head. "I've talked to Dumbledore & McGonagall about making up some side-classes for you to catch up this week."

Remus felt as if he was about to faint again. He put one hand on his forehead. "Four da …I've been out four?" How was he going to explain this to James, Sirius & Peter?

"It'll be ok," Madam Pomfrey said. "There isn't much homework. McGonagall thinks you can catch up easily. It's still early in the year."

Remus looked around the room. "How have you kept me hidden all this time?"

"You're in my personal quarters," Madam Pomfrey said as she stood up. "I thought it would be best so no one goes peering behind curtains & ends up seeing you."

"Merci (Thanks)," Remus gasped weakly, not realising he used French. "I don't know what happened. It was never four days. It won't happen ag—"

"Mr. Lupin!" Madam Pomfrey cut him off. "It doesn't matter if it takes four days or four hundred. You take as much time as you need. No one should lose that much blood as you did that night! It's ok. Just rest."

"I'll be ok to go back tomorrow," Remus said.

"That's for me to decide," Madam Pomfrey tried not to snap. "You are certainly staying here one more night!" At that, she headed back into the main ward again.

Remus inspected the bandages on him. His arms, hands, around his torso. He couldn't remember being this beaten up before. He fell back against his pillows. "J'arrive pas à croire que je suis parti pendant quatre jours (I can't believe I was gone four days)!"