Running out of ways to tell the world that I am not J.K Rowling and I have an uncomfortable feeling she'd flip if she read this story! Have fun.
A long time later, when it was all over, Draco realised he could remember very little of the next few hours. It was all very blurry in his mind, like he didn't really want to think about it.
What he did remember was standing and staring at his friend's motionless body, lying sprawled on the forest floor. But the truly incredible, unbelievable thing that made all their mouths drop open was the dome of bluish-silvery light shimmering like water all around him.
Hermione took a few steps forward and gingerly poked the light with her wand. "Ouch!" she yelped, as it shot violently out of her hand. Her face screwed up in pain, she cradled her arm in her other hand, sinking to her knees as though her legs had turned to jelly.
"It shocked you?" Draco asked, taking a step towards her before stopping abruptly. "What was that?"
There was something else crashing through the undergrowth. And it was heading right towards them.
Bursting out from between two gnarled, twisted tree trunks – all long, yellow teeth, shaggy grey fur, slobbering red tongue, glowing yellow eyes – lunging at them, snarling, foaming.
A werewolf.
A bloody…great…werewolf.
Help.
It cleared the dome in a single leap, but before it could reach them, a furry orange cannon-ball came belting straight into him. Hissing and growling, claws out, Ptolemy left angry red scars across the bigger animal's face.
The werewolf howled in pain and violently tossed his head. Ptolemy went flying, crashed into a tree and lay still.
Again the wolf crouched, aimed directly at Lucy, and the girl froze. It leaped, but then something else came crashing out of the undergrowth; something bigger than even the werewolf. Course and silvery hair, bony antlers, crashing into the wolf, sending it flying over its head.
It was an enormous stag.
The wolf crashed into the forest floor and lay still and gasping, obviously winded. And then, as they all stared, the stag morphed into the shape of a man, holding a wand outstretched.
James Potter.
Ropes shot from his wand towards the animal, but it suddenly scrambled to its feet and out of range. The ropes wrapped instead around a tree. James swore.
Lucy's eyes darted in disbelief from her father to her friends – Draco had shoved Hermione up a low-branched tree and was busy scrambling up behind her – back to the werewolf that was making straight for her again. She gave a little yelp and stumbled backwards right into Evan's shield, fell into it, fell through it like it wasn't there.
The werewolf crashed into it after her, howled in pain and dropped back, just as a crimson stunner hit its flank.
Shaken but not unconscious it turned aggressively towards James.
And right then, a third shape pushed through the trees. "Stun on two Potter!" a voice cried.
Twin bolts of light hit the wolf at the same time, and finally subdued, it fell unconscious. James flicked his wand again, and this time the ropes hobbled the beast and held.
It was Dr. Snape who joined him then, clutching his own wand tightly. "What the hell happened…is that Remus?"
"You tell me. Weren't you supposed to be making him something to keep him human over the full-moon?"
"I was and I did," Severus retorted. He glanced over to where Evan lay, then back at the stunned animal. "I've got some left over from the batch I made him a couple of days ago. It should still be good. Stay here with the kids. I have a feeling we're not going to get any answers until we've got Remus back."
He disappeared with a crack, and they waited in absolute silence until his return barely a minute later.
"Hold his head."
James complied, but just then, the wolf woke up and snapped his head to one side, sending the vial flying.
"Here, let me," James offered. And by wrapping his arm around the animal's skull and levering its jaws apart with a stick, he managed to tip the evil green fluid down its gullet.
It worked immediately. The wolf choked and writhed and its head shortened, its body shortened, its dreadful paws lengthened, forming into a man's fingers…the ugly hair disappeared…the werewolf turned back into Professor Lupin.
"Oh thank God!" Lupin gasped. "What a nightmare."
"Are you all right, mate?" James asked kindly.
"I've been better," the teacher groaned.
"What happened to Evan?" Severus cut in impatiently, gesturing to the glowing half-globe.
Lupin glanced over and jumped. "I…I…don't know…I think he followed me in to the forest. When I realised somebody had switched the Wolfsbane potion you sent me with something else, I got myself out here as soon as I could. But, yes, I remember. I saw him just before I transformed and I stunned him so I wouldn't attack him. But as for that shield…none of my doing."
"It hurt me when I touched it," Hermione offered from her tree. "But Lucy just went right through it."
Severus and James exchanged glanced. "Wake him up," he told Lucy.
"I…I don't know the counter-curse."
Severus edged closer. Gingerly he touched his fingers to the globe, then to everybody's surprise, he stepped through. "Ennervate."
And Evan opened his eyes.