Stella was released from the hospital wing two days later. She was supposed to stay a third day, but when she set a few of the beds on fire out of boredom, Madame Pomfrey shooed her out. Lily and Remus helped her get all caught up in her classes, so she was back on track in no time.
Pretty soon, October 30th had rolled around once again.
"We need to make big plans for tonight! This has to top last year." Said Sirius.
"That's a tuffy. Tag with a troll is gonna be hard to beat." Stella laughed.
"Has anyone seen Remus today? He was supposed to go with us this year." James told them.
"I think he's sick." Peter told them, while loading his plate up with mashed potatoes and kidney pudding.
"Remus is always sick!" Sirius complained.
Stella nodded. "I know, at least once a month. Isn't that odd?"
"Maybe our mischievous deed for this year should be finding out where Remus really goes every month." James suggested.
"He goes to the hospital wing, obviously." Said Peter.
"Not true." Said Sirius.
Stella explained. "Sirius and I went to visit him before, and he wasn't there."
"And whenever he is there, he always looks like he's just been beat up, and he's really tired." Added James.
"Okay, so it's decided." Said Stella. "We'll find Remus, and follow him wherever he goes to find out what he does every month that's so secretive."
"What do you think it is, anyway?" asked Sirius.
James thought about it for a moment. "Maybe he has a secret lover."
"Maybe he sneaks off to resume his secret life as a black market dolphin salesmen!" Stella joked.
"Or maybe he dug a hole to China and buried his chocolate stash there, and he goes off once a month to re-stock." Said Peter, trying to be funny, but everyone just stared at him like 3 heads.
"How is that even a remote possibility?" asked James.
Sirius looked confused. "Why would he go through the trouble of digging a hole to China when he could just floo there, or use a portkey?"
"And Remus' chocolate stash is under his trunk, we found it last year." Added Stella.
Peter frowned. "I thought it was funnier than the dolphin joke…"
Stella glared daggers at him. "What was that, Pete?"
Peter coward back. "Nothing! I was just saying how…I think you're funnier than a bloke."
Stella smirked, amused by his cover up. "That's what I thought you said."
After dinner, James got his invisibility cloak, threw it over himself, Stella, Sirius, and Peter, and the kids set off to find Remus.
They checked the library first, but it was empty, so they went to the hospital wing, where they found him, talking to Madame Pomfrey.
"Thanks, I'll be here early tomorrow morning, as usual." Said Remus, before leaving the hospital wing. They followed him up to his dormitory, where he got a book, and few chocolate bars, before going back out. He left the castle, and walked towards the whomping willow tree.
"This is getting good." Sirius grinned.
Remus mumbled a spell too low for them to hear, and the tree froze, just long enough to grant him access to the shrieking shack. But before his friends could follow suit, the willow swung at them, throwing them back onto the ground.
"He knew how to freeze the tree all this time, yet he made us fight it?" Sirius asked, ticked off.
Stellea shrugged. "Maybe he just learned it."
"But why would Remus be sneaking off to the shrieking shack?" asked Peter.
"Maybe he's meeting that lover I mentioned!" exclaimed James.
"Or selling those dolphins." Laughed Stella.
"So what do we do now?" Sirius asked.
"Now I guess we play the waiting game." Said James, sitting down. His friends did the same.
"Do you think this is really where he's been coming every month? Since first year. I mean." Sirius asked.
"Possibly. It would explain why his book was in there." Said Stella.
"But the question is, why was everything torn to bits?" asked James.
"And why would he even have to come here at all?" Peter wondered.
"Hopefully we'll find out." Said Stella.
It was getting late, and the Marauders were bored out of their minds.
"Is he ever gonna come out of there?" Sirius whined.
"I hope it's soon." James added.
"Guys, look. It's a full moon tonight." Stella smiled, pointing up at the moon as it rose.
Suddenly, they heard Remus scream. It sounded like he was in agonizing pain, and it was followed by a howl.
"Remus!" Stella cried, jolting up.
"What was that?" Peter squeaked.
"It sounded like a wolf." Said James.
"We have to help him!" Stella exclaimed, running towards the weeping willow. She jumped over a branch, and then ducked under the next, and then she was at the passage to the shrieking shack. She pulled on the door, but it was locked from the inside. She took out her wand.
"Alohomora!" Stella whispered, unlocking the door. The moment she opened it she heard a growl, and came face to face with a werewolf. Her eyes went wide, and the wolf threw his head back and howled, making chills run down her spine.
Stella took this opportunity to stuff her wand back into her jeans and run toward the whomping willow. James had just made it to the passage, Sirius was still battling the tree, and Pete had stayed behind.
"Run!" Stella yelled, grabbing James' arm and pulling him with her towards the tree. She would take a beating from the willow over a facing a werewolf any day.
They jumped onto a branch, and let it fling them across the field. They landed next to Peter, and Sirius rushed over to them.
James threw the cloak over the four of them, and they tried to steady their breathing as the wolf ran towards them, sniffing around.
"It can smell us." Stella whispered.
The wolf came closer until he was right in front off the kids. He pawed at the cloak, knocking it off of them. James shoved his back in his pocket instinctively.
"Nobody move." James whispered, as the wolf smelled them.
"Where's Remus?" Sirius whispered to Stella.
"Did the wolf eat him?" Peter gulped.
Stella shook her head. "I think the wolf is Remus."
Suddenly, the wolf let out another ear splitting howl.
Stella took a step toward it, reaching out her hand, as if to show surrender.
"Remus?" she said calmly. "Is that you, Remmy?"
The wolf bared its teeth and growled. Sirius grabbed Stella's arm and pulled her back.
"Not anymore. Run!" Sirius yelled, and the four of them took off, followed by the wolf.
Peter went straight for the castle.
"Pete, no!" Stella cried.
"Don't lead him there! You'll put everyone in danger!" James hollered, but it was too late, Peter was almost there.
"We have to distract him." Said Stella.
"Are you mad? He'll kill us!" said Sirius.
"We can't go back to school, he could attack anyone!" James told him.
Sirius nodded. "Right, what do you suggest we do?"
"I have a plan. James, get passed the weeping willow and hide close to the passage to the shrieking shack. Sirius and I will lead Remus into the forbidden forest to buy you some time, and then we'll get him into the shrieking shack. The second he's in there, shut the door and cast any sort of locking charm you can think of." Stella ordered.
"Got it. Good luck!" James yelled, making his way toward the willow as Remus targeted Stella and Sirius.
"Why did he get the easy part?" Sirius whined breathlessly, as the two kids ran as fast as they could into the forbidden forest.
"Cause he's faster and get's passed the willow easier than you." Stella told him, as they took shelter behind a large tree.
"Thanks for the ego boast!" Sirius said sarcastically, frowning.
"As if you need one." Stella laughed.
They went silent as they heard Remus rounding in on them. They tried to steady their breathing.
"Think James is in position?" Sirius panted.
"He better be. Go!" Stella yelled, as she took of sprinting beside Sirius.
She ran towards the end of the forest, stopping abruptly, as she realized Sirius wasn't with her. She looked back, seeing that he had just tripped, and the werewolf was now hovering over him, growling. Stella bent down and picked up the biggest stick she could find, running over to them and whacking Remus as hard as she could with it. It sent the wolf tumbling backwards, and she helped Sirius to his feet.
"Sorry, Remus." She muttered.
The wolf sprang up and pranced on top of her, howling. It opened its mouth, and snatched down to bite her. Stella closed her eyes, biting her lip so hard that it bleed to keep from screaming. But suddenly, Remus was flung off of her.
She sat up to see that Sirius had thrown a big rock at Remus. He helped her up, and they took off running toward the weeping willow. Stella jumped over the first branch that flew at them, but it tripped Sirius. It flung Stella up in the air, but she held on tight. As she seen Remus hot on their heels, she reached for Sirius as soon as she was close enough to the ground, and she pulled him up with her. They jumped off at the passage to the shrieking shack, and stood in front of it.
"Are you sure this will work?" Sirius whispered as Remus approached them,
"I was." Stella said, nervously.
"Was?" Sirius yelped.
"Not feeling so confident at the moment. On three." Said Stella.
"One."
"Two."
"Three!"
They broke apart just as Remus charged at them. Stella fell to the right and Sirius fell to the left. James pulled off his invisibility cloak and pushed the door shut.
He pointed his wand at it and muttered, "Collopotus."
The door locked from the inside, and the wolf jumped up against the door, scratching at it.
James helped Stella and Sirius up.
"Well done, mates." James told them.
"You knew the locking spell! I thought you didn't pay attention in charms." Stella remarked.
"I don't." James said. "What I do pay attention to, however, is Lily. She used that spell to lock me out of her compartment on the train last year."
"Clever." Stella nodded.
"I can't believe we just did that." Said Sirius as they made it back to the Gryffindor common room.
"Neither can I. But we can never tell a soul. I don't blame Remus for keeping this a secret, most of the people here would go mad if they found out. They wouldn't treat him the same, I bet that's why he didn't tell us." Said Stella.
"But we won't treat him any different. It's not his fault that this happens to him." Said James.
"I know." Stella nodded. "But he probably didn't think we'd trust him if we knew."
"Well that's ridiculous. We're his friends, and we'll always stand by him through and through, no matter what." Said Sirius. Stella and James agreed.
"I just wish there was something we could do to help him through it, you know? It must be so hard going through that all alone." Said James.
"Perhaps he doesn't have to…" said Stella.
"Explain." Said Sirius.
"Up for a trip to the library?" Stella asked, earning a look of complete and utter confusion from the boys.
"Here it is! I had a feeling it would be in the restricted section." Said Stella, pulling a book into the cloak with them. They went back up to their common room once again.
"Now will you please tell us what in the world you could possibly need a book for at this hour?" asked Sirius as they took of the cloak.
"Animagi?" James asked, reading the cover.
"What does that have to do with werewolves?" Sirius inquired.
"I think animagi and werewolves can get along, from what I've heard anyway. I'm checking to make sure."
"Why?" asked Sirius.
"You're not thinking about becoming an animagus, are you, Stella?" James raised his eyes brows.
"Yes, James, actually I am. I think we all should." Said Stella.
"It takes a long time to master, and you can't even try to register at the ministry for it until you're of age." Said Sirius.
"True, but remember when I asked McGonagall about becoming one without registering first year?"
James nodded. "She said it was illegal, and punishable with time in Azkaban."
"You're not seeing the big picture here…she said it was possible." Grinned Stella.
"But knowing the risks, you're willing to go through with it?" asked Sirius.
"If it will help my friend, then yeah, I will." Said Stella.
"Me too." James decided.
"Count me in." Sirius grinned.
"Let's go explain everything to Peter. After all, he's in on this too." Said James.
Stella and Sirius nodded, following him up to the boy's dorm.