J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury Publishers
Own the © on Severus and his mates
I do not own, I gather no riches
I'm merely toying with their fates
Andolyn
The Shrieking Shack
Another two days passed. Days filled with staff meetings, trying to find a way to explain to the teachers the workings of plains, trains, automobiles and cell phones. It was decided that the Shrieking Shack, a place the villagers of Hogsmeade took for haunted, would be used to instruct the wizards in the more practical aspects of daily Muggle life. Ari would be the teacher and Dumbledore asked her to furnish the house as if it was a normal Muggle home, right down to the light bulbs and air freshener. The Shack could be reached through a secret passage from the school grounds in such a way both the other teachers and the students in -theory- would never notice. The mentioning of the house seemed to make Black, Lupin and Snape a bit uneasy. Lupin warned that Harry should be let in on the secret otherwise the boy might make a lot of wrong conclusions, which could compromise the whole idea. Dumbledore agreed. This made both Black and McGonagall rather proud of the boy, and chagrined Snape to no end, having him throwing foul looks across the table and muttering the word 'Gryffindors!' under his breath like a curse.
The whole point in using the Shack in the first place was that electrical appliances did not work on the school grounds. If Ari was to instruct any wizard in lets say, the use of e-mail, they had to go elsewhere.
Filch was assigned to Ari to help her clean and redecorate. The man pretended not to like this and all the hard work it involved, but Ari got the impression the caretaker was quite pleased with the idea to have magicians work with -things- rather than -magic-. Hooch, Pomfrey, Flitwick, Snape, McGonagall and Dumbledore himself would be Ari's first students. A grinning Ari told the wizards that cleaning and decorating the shack -by hand- would be a nice first lesson. Filch mood improved a lot with that statement. Snape and Hooch however, threw each other some furtive glances clearly stating neither was very pleased with the idea.
A wizard by name of Walter Gates had been contacted and would arrive later that week to interview Ari and Harry on what had happened the night they escaped privet Drive. Harry and Ari would make sure they told the same story without involving the Potions Master.
Last but not least, the teachers were really warming up to the idea to reintroduce their old students to Hogwarts, and to show them the school grounds were safe. Unfortunately, this meant for Lupin, Hagrid and Harry they would be on display a bit. And they had to wait until the rest the teachers and Hagrid were back.
It was a rather odd group that went to inspect the shack later that afternoon, walking over the field in front of the castle to the forest's edge. Black and Ari made up the front, the Animagus on two legs instead of four as not to scare off Mrs Norris. She seemed nervous enough around both Lupin and Black as it was. Behind them cam Filch, carrying an old-fashioned lantern, Mrs. Norris perched on his shoulder as if she belonged there, and Lupin in deep conversation about the state of the Shrieking Shack as how he remembered it. The rear was made up by Snape, their silent shadow, as morose and seemingly in deep in thought. He seemed to favour rubbing and scratching his head instead of his left arm today.
Black's gaze followed Ari's backwards and he grinned at the sight of the preoccupied wizard.
"You know, I do not have many -fond- memories of this house, but there is -one- that does stand out."
"Sirius-" Lupin's mild voice came warningly. Snape gave no reaction, even if it seemed to Ari something was expected of him. But he did stop rubbing his temple.
"What -is- the story behind the Shack? Ari asked.
Lupin caught up with her and Black. He seemed to hesitate, willing himself to explain her something but not quite knowing how, it seemed. He coughed and cleared his throat.
"You know by now of my- er- 'condition'?"
"I have been told you are a werewolf, yes." Ari's was careful not to change her tone of voice. She could have been acknowledging a fondness for Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans for all the outward signs she gave. Dumbledore was quite fond of handing out the sweets at the staff meetings. Last time she had had one, it tasted like spinach.
Lupin's kind, modest demeanour had given her the impression the man did not like to be noticed very much. Many shy people had some kind of problem with themselves and Ari guessed Lupin had yet to reconcile himself with the werewolf part of his nature. She would not rub salt into that wound by going of her rocker over a dangerous infliction the man seemed perfectly in control of, even if he was the last one to recognize the fact.
Lupin's face showed unconscious relief, even if he tried to control himself. If he really wanted control, he should ask Snape for some lessons, Ari mused.
"I was bitten when I was a small child - I've always been changing with the phases of the moon. And when I came here, I had to hide every month to make sure I would not expose or endanger myself- or any of the other students."
Black chuckled. "You must have made a really cute puppy."
Lupin shuddered in mock horror. "Well, I quickly changed from a 'really cute puppy' into an adolescent monster. I had to be separated from humans in order to protect them from me. It was judged I should both hide my condition and the monthly effects. Parents would probably not agree with the Headmaster's decision to allow me in, if they had known."
"Actually," said Black on a more serious note, "it is only the proven fact that Remus has fought Death Eaters in both his human and werewolf form that has convinced the Ministry to allow him to be a teacher at Hogwarts again."
Snape snorted at that. Lupin smiled and said: "And there is of course a rather hideous Wolfsbane concoction Severus has come up with that allows me to remain calm when my transformation comes over me. His potion is what gives me my control and might be the hope of many a werewolf in the future- If -all- of us would get access to the medicine, who knows? Maybe the affliction could be controlled as far as its total annihilation."
Ari turned to Snape. "Really? That is brilliant!"
Snape shrugged. "I received some rather -persuasive- motivation to research the field when I was younger."
Black smirked. "Well, it worked!"
Snape's sighed, looking away. He muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'blasted son of a bitch!'. Both he and Black carefully avoided eye contact.
"This is it", Lupin said, pointing at a tall willow. The tree was swaying gently in an unexisting breeze.
"Now watch this!" Lupin walked forward, while the others remained. The tree stopped moving while Lupin got nearer. Edging closer slowly, the werewolf seemed prepared to jump away instantly. Suddenly, half of the thick branches lurched at the man, struggling to beat the living daylights out of him. But Lupin made a graceful jump backwards and avoided the deadly stems with ease.
The tree seemed enraged. It swayed wildly on it's trunk, pelting last summer's leaves at them. Birds flew from the branches with annoyed whistles and titters. The wood positively groaned.
"That tree was planted to guard that gap you see between its roots. Behind that gap is a tunnel and behind the tunnel is the Shrieking Shack. There is a knot on the trunk that when pushed, and only when pushed, will calm the tree. I could find it with my eyes closed and have done so on many a night when the moon was indeed full but the sky cloudy. It is there that I went and there that I stayed when the werewolf's change and rage overtook me and made me into a mindless monster. But I was not alone."
Lupin turned to Black with a smile rivalling the summer sun in it's brightness.
"There were those who were my friends and did not betray me when they found me out. Friends who stole me from my pain and isolation."
Lupin held out a hand to Black and the Animagus took it, jovially clapping his old friend on the shoulder.
"James- and you!"
Ari had to swallow a big chunk of something, even if the words were somewhat melodramatic. Filch looked on with ha very dour expression on his face while putting his cat down.- And Snape just turned away, flexing his hand, pretending to study his nails.
"And let us not forget your good and faithful friend mister Pettigrew now, shall we?" he commented wry.
The moment broke and the two men turned, Lupin shaking his head somewhat exasperated, Black with narrowed eyes, a storm gathering behind them.
"We need a stick." he said tersely.
Without missing a beat, Snape turned to Ari with a predatory grin. "You see, in those ill begotten times of our youth, there was no need to search for a stick. Mister Pettigrew, the fourth member of the pack, could transform himself into a rat and was small enough to slip under the branches. He could reach that knob with ease."
"A bunch of mischief makers, the whole bleedin' lot of them!" Filch groused. "Never up to no good and always finding ways too leave the castle in the middle of the night!"
"Yes-" Snape nodded. "They were extremely lucky something -serious- never happened- They were a danger to themselves- and others."
Black had stopped looking down for some piece of wood to open the gap beneath the tree- but the fingers of his right hand- his wandhand, twitched while he stared Snape in the face.
"Why did you insist on coming this afternoon!"
Snape took his right hand in the left, inspecting and fingering the small calluses at his fingertips where he probably would rest his quill or spoon.
"If I am going to break my hands over this nonsense, I'd like to know the damage before I start."
Black shook his head. "I don't think so."
Snape merely raised his brow.
"Nonsense?" Ari asked indignantly, trying to break the build-up of tension with a joke. "And that is coming from a man who does not even know how to open the door of a car? O how I am going to work you, my dear- You'd better wear something a bit less fancy next time- There will be a lot of dust to move and cobwebs to clear, I wager."
"It's not the spiders in the former doghouse I fear, madam- It's the flees."
"Snape- " Black grumbled.
"Leave him, Sirius." Lupin tried to calm his friend. "We should have taken something with us to press the knob with."
"Yes-", Snape said in a mellow voice and a sideways glance in Ari's direction. "Go find a stick-".
Snape did not need to add the word 'boy' to have it hanging in the air. Luckily, before things could get even more tense, Mrs Norris wandered quietly over to the base of the willow, avoiding the branches with graceful ease, and started prodding and scratching it. Suddenly the angry tree fell silent.
"Clever girl," beamed Filch. Lupin took out his wand. 'Lumos' he said, and went in, right behind the curious cat. Filch followed them. Ari was right behind Black and again, Snape made up the rear. Black looked over his shoulder at them and sneered.
"Mind your head."
Behind her, Ari thought she heard Snape softly curse again.
Ari felt left out, and she was not quite sure if it was a good thing or not. Black and Snape were bickering every step, to the despair of Lupin. Filch just did not seem to care, but sometimes Ari caught his eyes and he seemed to cheer the points Snape was scoring against Black. Filch was definitely not a dog person. He also seemed to have a more personal grudge against Lupin and Black, stemming from their schooldays.
Between Black and Snape there did not seem to exist a personal grudge- every sneer and look -screamed- there was one. The bickering was rather petty, on both accounts. Little boys away from the stern look of the headmaster being naughty and trying each other for what they could get away with. It annoyed Ari. Even if she did not know either man very well, nor their obvious history with each other, she had thought better of a couple of adults who were, for all intends and purposes, brothers in arms. And besides, the snarls and witty taunts Black and Snape dealt each other seemed to hurt Lupin.
Ari felt like Alice crawling down the rabbit hole. The gap was so narrow Hagrid would never have fitted.
The place seemed the den of some animal and certainly nothing more.
The wands of Lupin and Black and Filch's lamp shone their cheery lights in front of her, waiting for her at the bottom of a small slope. The ceiling of the tunnel that followed was so low, even Ari had to move in an awkward crouch.
"The first thing that has to be done is that this place must be widened! I refuse to walk this way every time I give a class and I -don't- care if it's done with magic or not!"
The men surrounding Ari chuckled.
"This place was not made for people, you know."
No, just wolves and dogs and their like- and the tunnel was perfectly fit for that kind of traffic.
Finally the tunnel began to rise somewhat. The tunnel twisted and gave way to a dull dusty room. No-one had lived here for ages, it seemed- but the last occupants had left a terrible mess.
The paper was peeling from the walls, the rug was stained so badly it's original colour was beyond recovery. There was a couch, toppled over, the cover shred to pieces and all the materials used for stuffing gathering dust all around the room. Broken chairs, a coffee table against the wall as if it had been picked up and violently thrown away. The windows were all boarded up. Ari sneezed. Lupin carefully picked his way through the mess, his wand tucked away again, towards one of the windows. He peered out.
"I wonder what this place will look like when it's all fixed up."
Black went to him and again touched his friend's shoulder.
"You really would like to see that, don't you?"
"This place is a mess. Putting it in order feels like- like some kind of reconciliation, really. These walls have seen a lot of me. It feels almost like- getting some part of my past sorted out. A final closure to the chapter."
There were bite marks on a lot of the furniture- old marks. Ari shivered and she felt deeply for the boy, now a man, who had to be locked in here with nothing to do but endure the curse in solitude. Looking around, she understood something of Lupin's gratitude towards -both- Black and Snape.
Snape rolled his eyes at the two men, but held his tongue for once and left the room, perhaps to explore the rest of the place.
The shack was just an ordinary house, with an attic, a second floor holding three bedrooms and a bathroom, and a first floor with a front room, as study and a kitchen. There was no cellar.
The whole place was derelict. The first thing that had to be done, was magic all of the windows to look like they had for the past twenty years, so nobody on the outside would suspect the changes within.
Ari roamed the house with Filch, writing down everything they would have to do and the supplies they needed. Ari was astonished to find the place did not even have electricity or gas. Generators would have to be installed in the attic.
The only pieces of furniture outside a rather large four-poster in one of the bedrooms, were the kitchen counter, the sink and the coal furnace. Being a wizard had its disadvantages, so it would seem. What would one of them do if they found themselves wandless and inexperienced in her side of the world? Starve?
Apparently the kitchen was the only room in the house that could hold Snape's interest. Ari found him peering inside the stove.
"Watch it- you will dirty yourself."
"With what- this thing has not been in use since before I studied at Hogwarts. This is a miserable place."
Snape stood, rubbing his hands to clear them of the dust.
"At least we have running water. What?"
Ari clamped her hand before her mouth, trying not to laugh. Snape had dust in his hair, a smudge on his chin and pale marks on his robes where his knees had touched the floor. Ari at least had been sensible enough to wear the pink robe, since she really did not care if the thing would survive the onslaught of their check-up and later cleaning expeditions. Sirius had been prowling around in the attic and looked a lot worse than Snape when he came down. Lupin busied himself with bewitching the windows and Filch was making an inventory of the work that had to be done in the bedrooms. He was the only one untouched by the grime of the building. Mrs. Norris had made herself comfortable on the bed, curled up and pretending to sleep.
"You- er- You are interested in stoves? Do you cook?"
"I know a thing or two about recipes."
"What is so interesting about the stove?"
"Heating devices have my interest. But although I do not doubt I could boil an egg quite reasonably on this thing, I don't think I could do much potion making here."
Black entered the kitchen, overhearing Snape's last remark.
"As usual, you are missing the point of this place."
The Animagus did not even seemed to notice the cobwebs in his manes or the small spider that tried to get out of his hair and away. He had put on some old robes that could handle a few stains more- they already looked as if he slept in the woods within them. There was dust on his elbows and knees, a big splodge on his front an a tear near the hem. Ari chuckled, looking him over.
"Had fun?"
Black gave her a nod, but did not allow himself to be distracted.
Snape shrugged. "On the contrary. I thought this whole scheme was meant to teach us some communication skills besides our usual channels. But I fear this to be quite a lost case with you."
Black walked in and pretended to be interested in the sink, standing quite close to Snape, invading his personal space. Lupin appeared in the door opening and cocked his head at them.
"At it again, are they?" he asked Ari. She stepped back a bit, leant with her back to the wall and nodded.
"Yes, and I am quite fed up with it already. How long have those two been at it? And how do you cope?"
They watched, as Snape and Black traded half hidden insults and snappy remarks, oblivious to the other two.
"Usually I don't have to. Either Sirius is posing as Snuffles or the Headmaster keeps them in line. Sirius puts in an effort to control himself around Harry too- And Snape just seems to be ditching out the acid he has been holding back for months. Don't ask me why he started just now-."
Ari narrowed her eyes at that, pushed back her glasses and shrugged.
"I do have some ideas-"
Lupin looked away as if hurt. His reply came somewhat strained. "You might be right- and I am sorry for it- Snape could never resist taunting either James or Sirius, and Sirius always wanted to play spoilsport for Severus- even if he-" the werewolf faltered.
"Wasn't really interested in winning?" Ari finished the sentence.
"You think so?" Lupin asked, both doubtful and hopeful at the same time.
"I think we should break up the children- it is past teatime already." Ari pushed herself away from the wall.
"O -gentlemen-, If you are ready, I think it is getting about time for us to leave."
Both Black and Snape snapped their heads in Ari's direction. Black turned again and sneered "You think you could find your way back, Snape. Last time you were not so terribly successful on your own-?"
"Sirius!" Lupin raised his voice somewhat, sounding rather exasperated.
Snape calmly crossed his arms over his chest, hands disappearing into his sleeves. The gesture made some alarms go off in Ari's mind-
"Last time's little fiasco ended in the escape of the murderer who consequently sought out Voldemort- And we all know how -that- ended!"
Blacke turned fully towards the Potions Master. Ari could only see his back, but she could make out how the man tensed up, and he was flexing fist, preparing to strike.
"If -you- had not been such a stupid, -childish- git and had -listened- for a change, non of that would have happened in the first place!"
Snape smiled coldly, as if unaffected by Black's building rage- but his eyes were livid.
"Well," he drawled, "perhaps next time you and that little friend of yours will put some more thoughts in your exploits and make yourselves a bit clearer, before using that mindless Gryffindor mentality to simply jump into the fray that makes you so wonderfully forgetful of important details- Like taking ones medicine on time!"
Lupin stiffened. If Snape was only remotely implying what Ari thought he was, his remarks were totally uncalled for. While squabbling with Black he lashed out at Lupin, hurting both men with something that apparently had something to do with Lupin's affliction. And that was plain mean.
Lupin stepped back quietly, turned and left the scene without saying a word. Black circled Snape somewhat, pale and with a tiny crouch in his stance, betraying his desire and readiness to let the argument come to blows any second. Ari hesitated a moment between following the hurt werewolf and stepping in between the men.
Snape slowly changed his stance, quite subtly. Body language betraying he too was ready to fight. That stance was enough for Black.
"You -bastard-!" he yelled, taking a swing at Snape's jaw. But Snape gracefully moved out of harms way and retaliated with a kick directed at Black's groin- The Animagus moved with less stealth, but faster and his second blow got Snape in the stomach. Snape doubled over, turned and gave Black a double handed blow on the kidneys that made him yelp first and the growl, as Snape kicked his legs from under him. The Animagus kicked back viciously, nearly breaking a knee. Snape fell over Black and the men started to kick, punch, pull at hair and shout like fighting schoolboys, taking turns at being on top and punching the other where they could.
Ari shouted for the men to stop, but if anything her words only seemed to enrage them more. She started looking for a bucket so she could literally cool them of with cold water, when she saw Filch in the doorway, looking very amused at the fight.
"Do something!" Ari yelled at the caretaker, but he shook his head.
"Don't interfere, miss. Those two have had this coming for years- just let them get it out of their system."
"But-"
"Look at them- neither of them is really serious- They haven't drawn their wands, now have they?"
Snape and Black pushed themselves past Filch and Ari into the living room where they had more space to move. The sad remains of the furniture were soon flying around Ari heard something being thrown and crashing and Snape's voice shouting 'ha, you missed!' followed with a shout, a bang and another outcry.
"Are you telling me this is some inane male -bonding ritual- or something? That next those two idiots will quietly find themselves a pub and go compare bruises? For goodness sake- Didn't they realise how much they have hurt Remus! This is childish!"
Filch shrugged and bent down to pet his cat, who had appeared from nowhere and was rubbing herself against his legs for attention.
"Those two were children when this started and the never got the chance to settle the score. They'll feel better after this."
"Oh!" Ari growled, utterly frustrated with the lot of them and turned towards the living. The destruction in the room was total and a lot worse than before- even if Ari had not thought it possible. Both men were winded and eyed each other viciously over some distance. Their clothes were torn, Black seemed to be developing a wonderfully coloured black eye and Snape's bottom lip was swollen and bleeding.
"Well, have you two -quite- finished now?"
"Keep out of this," Snape warned breathless with a snarl.
"Oh- grow up, you two!"
Black laughed- but it was by no means a merry laugh. It sounded harsh and spiteful.
"What is it, Snape me boy? Still need some skirt to hide behind? Shame poor Lily is not here to come to your defence now- isn't it?"
With an uncharacteristic roar, Snape jumped out of his corner, took a swing at Blacks face, missed, but got him in the ribs and continued pouncing where he could.
"Leave Lily out of this! If it weren't for your stupidity, she'd -still- be alive!"
Now Black screamed- and started fighting the other man with a viciousness that belayed Filch's remark about not being serious. This -was- serious, very much so.
But Ari could no longer look at those stupid fools who refused to let themselves be appeased. She picked up the caretaker's lantern and quickly slipped past the two idiots, who were still snarling insults, kicking and punching.
Filch had followed Ari and stared at the fight with interest. But then he saw Ari take his lamp.
"Where're you off to now?"
"I'm going after Remus! You watch the children. And please, -try- to make them play -nice- for a change?"
Filch grinned. There was a tight knot of robes rolling over the floor now, occasionally banging into something and still kicking.
"Too late for that, I'm afraid."
Quickly now, Ari entered the passageway. Around the bend, she could see a shimmer of light- Lupin's wand. She yelled at him to wait- but he did not and Ari felt compelled to hurry after him as quick as she could, closely followed by Mrs Norris.
Finally, Ari came up from the gap beneath the Womping Willow. Apparently the tree guarded only for people going in- not out, for it remained quiet. Ari looked out over the field towards the school- but she could not see the werewolf. Yet she was certain he had not been able to cross the distance that quickly.
So he had to have turned to seek solace in the dark forest behind the willow. Ari could understand that- she herself could do with a stroll in the woods. She started out to follow a path leading in- and nearly tripped over Filch's cat!
"Now what is this, Mrs Norris- do you want to come with me?"
But the cat only meowed, rubbed her back against Ari's legs, walked towards the school a few paces and went back again.
"You want me to come with you, don't you? Sorry, Mrs. Norris, but I can't."
Ari turned. Mrs. Norris swept past her, stood on the middle of the path, raised her thickened tail, back high and yellow eyes blazing with fury.
Ari did took one step back.
"You are trying to warn me for something, aren't you?" Ari asked. The cat meowed again.
But Ari, haunted by the look she had seen on Lupin's face, shook her head and choose to ignore her.
"Silly cat! It's just trees in there- There are no monsters in those woods or I would have been told about them, now wouldn't I? I'll see you later!"
Purposefully Ari strode past the meowing and hissing cat, and when Ari turned to see if the cat was following her, She saw Mrs Norris in a dead run, back to the Womping Willow.
With a smile on her face and the lantern in her hand, she turned and quickly strode forward, telling herself not to leave the path, in the hope a quick stride would enable her to catch up with the werewolf soon.
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Sophie W, did I just got myself a Howler (grin)?
Sllea; in real life there are some countries where you are forbidden to take a picture of somebody without asking first, because the people believe you might catch their soul. I think the pictures have something of a life of their own, taking on the personality of the person in the picture as if the picture has captured and copied their personality as well. Thank you for showing me the typo- I've changed it.
Thanks lunarmouse, Sianna, Piri Malfoy (not the dungeons, no- but I'd love to see him fight some unruly wallpaper in the Shrieking shack!), Miracle (really great you like the song! Really big bear hug back!), Leila C. Snape, An Owl (o my gosh- I really do not know what to say to that one), Chipie36 (evenif they did get in a fight in this chapter, I do not dislike Black, I merely think Snape and Black have some issues, thanks for noticing!), Xara, Aliera (not just yet- but nearly!), Lionheart Eternal, Lila Mae, StEdWa, (don't I wish!), Crimsonthorne, Lala (so what is the other story I wanna -read- it!), Strega Brava, Angel, none (takes none by the hand and starts dancing too), MeJaimieMe, kiriko Himura, Starfire, Slytherin girl, Troy, Mae Noelle, Rugi Gwena, Lataradk (I have the same kind of long suffering friends you do. GO RICKMAN!), Starbite (thanks!), Ozma (Thanks- I'm still reading your Filch story- the way you make Snape human in caring for -his- children is wonderfull!), SilverStarlightAngel, and Elspeth (yes, it does).
Own the © on Severus and his mates
I do not own, I gather no riches
I'm merely toying with their fates
Andolyn
The Shrieking Shack
Another two days passed. Days filled with staff meetings, trying to find a way to explain to the teachers the workings of plains, trains, automobiles and cell phones. It was decided that the Shrieking Shack, a place the villagers of Hogsmeade took for haunted, would be used to instruct the wizards in the more practical aspects of daily Muggle life. Ari would be the teacher and Dumbledore asked her to furnish the house as if it was a normal Muggle home, right down to the light bulbs and air freshener. The Shack could be reached through a secret passage from the school grounds in such a way both the other teachers and the students in -theory- would never notice. The mentioning of the house seemed to make Black, Lupin and Snape a bit uneasy. Lupin warned that Harry should be let in on the secret otherwise the boy might make a lot of wrong conclusions, which could compromise the whole idea. Dumbledore agreed. This made both Black and McGonagall rather proud of the boy, and chagrined Snape to no end, having him throwing foul looks across the table and muttering the word 'Gryffindors!' under his breath like a curse.
The whole point in using the Shack in the first place was that electrical appliances did not work on the school grounds. If Ari was to instruct any wizard in lets say, the use of e-mail, they had to go elsewhere.
Filch was assigned to Ari to help her clean and redecorate. The man pretended not to like this and all the hard work it involved, but Ari got the impression the caretaker was quite pleased with the idea to have magicians work with -things- rather than -magic-. Hooch, Pomfrey, Flitwick, Snape, McGonagall and Dumbledore himself would be Ari's first students. A grinning Ari told the wizards that cleaning and decorating the shack -by hand- would be a nice first lesson. Filch mood improved a lot with that statement. Snape and Hooch however, threw each other some furtive glances clearly stating neither was very pleased with the idea.
A wizard by name of Walter Gates had been contacted and would arrive later that week to interview Ari and Harry on what had happened the night they escaped privet Drive. Harry and Ari would make sure they told the same story without involving the Potions Master.
Last but not least, the teachers were really warming up to the idea to reintroduce their old students to Hogwarts, and to show them the school grounds were safe. Unfortunately, this meant for Lupin, Hagrid and Harry they would be on display a bit. And they had to wait until the rest the teachers and Hagrid were back.
It was a rather odd group that went to inspect the shack later that afternoon, walking over the field in front of the castle to the forest's edge. Black and Ari made up the front, the Animagus on two legs instead of four as not to scare off Mrs Norris. She seemed nervous enough around both Lupin and Black as it was. Behind them cam Filch, carrying an old-fashioned lantern, Mrs. Norris perched on his shoulder as if she belonged there, and Lupin in deep conversation about the state of the Shrieking Shack as how he remembered it. The rear was made up by Snape, their silent shadow, as morose and seemingly in deep in thought. He seemed to favour rubbing and scratching his head instead of his left arm today.
Black's gaze followed Ari's backwards and he grinned at the sight of the preoccupied wizard.
"You know, I do not have many -fond- memories of this house, but there is -one- that does stand out."
"Sirius-" Lupin's mild voice came warningly. Snape gave no reaction, even if it seemed to Ari something was expected of him. But he did stop rubbing his temple.
"What -is- the story behind the Shack? Ari asked.
Lupin caught up with her and Black. He seemed to hesitate, willing himself to explain her something but not quite knowing how, it seemed. He coughed and cleared his throat.
"You know by now of my- er- 'condition'?"
"I have been told you are a werewolf, yes." Ari's was careful not to change her tone of voice. She could have been acknowledging a fondness for Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans for all the outward signs she gave. Dumbledore was quite fond of handing out the sweets at the staff meetings. Last time she had had one, it tasted like spinach.
Lupin's kind, modest demeanour had given her the impression the man did not like to be noticed very much. Many shy people had some kind of problem with themselves and Ari guessed Lupin had yet to reconcile himself with the werewolf part of his nature. She would not rub salt into that wound by going of her rocker over a dangerous infliction the man seemed perfectly in control of, even if he was the last one to recognize the fact.
Lupin's face showed unconscious relief, even if he tried to control himself. If he really wanted control, he should ask Snape for some lessons, Ari mused.
"I was bitten when I was a small child - I've always been changing with the phases of the moon. And when I came here, I had to hide every month to make sure I would not expose or endanger myself- or any of the other students."
Black chuckled. "You must have made a really cute puppy."
Lupin shuddered in mock horror. "Well, I quickly changed from a 'really cute puppy' into an adolescent monster. I had to be separated from humans in order to protect them from me. It was judged I should both hide my condition and the monthly effects. Parents would probably not agree with the Headmaster's decision to allow me in, if they had known."
"Actually," said Black on a more serious note, "it is only the proven fact that Remus has fought Death Eaters in both his human and werewolf form that has convinced the Ministry to allow him to be a teacher at Hogwarts again."
Snape snorted at that. Lupin smiled and said: "And there is of course a rather hideous Wolfsbane concoction Severus has come up with that allows me to remain calm when my transformation comes over me. His potion is what gives me my control and might be the hope of many a werewolf in the future- If -all- of us would get access to the medicine, who knows? Maybe the affliction could be controlled as far as its total annihilation."
Ari turned to Snape. "Really? That is brilliant!"
Snape shrugged. "I received some rather -persuasive- motivation to research the field when I was younger."
Black smirked. "Well, it worked!"
Snape's sighed, looking away. He muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'blasted son of a bitch!'. Both he and Black carefully avoided eye contact.
"This is it", Lupin said, pointing at a tall willow. The tree was swaying gently in an unexisting breeze.
"Now watch this!" Lupin walked forward, while the others remained. The tree stopped moving while Lupin got nearer. Edging closer slowly, the werewolf seemed prepared to jump away instantly. Suddenly, half of the thick branches lurched at the man, struggling to beat the living daylights out of him. But Lupin made a graceful jump backwards and avoided the deadly stems with ease.
The tree seemed enraged. It swayed wildly on it's trunk, pelting last summer's leaves at them. Birds flew from the branches with annoyed whistles and titters. The wood positively groaned.
"That tree was planted to guard that gap you see between its roots. Behind that gap is a tunnel and behind the tunnel is the Shrieking Shack. There is a knot on the trunk that when pushed, and only when pushed, will calm the tree. I could find it with my eyes closed and have done so on many a night when the moon was indeed full but the sky cloudy. It is there that I went and there that I stayed when the werewolf's change and rage overtook me and made me into a mindless monster. But I was not alone."
Lupin turned to Black with a smile rivalling the summer sun in it's brightness.
"There were those who were my friends and did not betray me when they found me out. Friends who stole me from my pain and isolation."
Lupin held out a hand to Black and the Animagus took it, jovially clapping his old friend on the shoulder.
"James- and you!"
Ari had to swallow a big chunk of something, even if the words were somewhat melodramatic. Filch looked on with ha very dour expression on his face while putting his cat down.- And Snape just turned away, flexing his hand, pretending to study his nails.
"And let us not forget your good and faithful friend mister Pettigrew now, shall we?" he commented wry.
The moment broke and the two men turned, Lupin shaking his head somewhat exasperated, Black with narrowed eyes, a storm gathering behind them.
"We need a stick." he said tersely.
Without missing a beat, Snape turned to Ari with a predatory grin. "You see, in those ill begotten times of our youth, there was no need to search for a stick. Mister Pettigrew, the fourth member of the pack, could transform himself into a rat and was small enough to slip under the branches. He could reach that knob with ease."
"A bunch of mischief makers, the whole bleedin' lot of them!" Filch groused. "Never up to no good and always finding ways too leave the castle in the middle of the night!"
"Yes-" Snape nodded. "They were extremely lucky something -serious- never happened- They were a danger to themselves- and others."
Black had stopped looking down for some piece of wood to open the gap beneath the tree- but the fingers of his right hand- his wandhand, twitched while he stared Snape in the face.
"Why did you insist on coming this afternoon!"
Snape took his right hand in the left, inspecting and fingering the small calluses at his fingertips where he probably would rest his quill or spoon.
"If I am going to break my hands over this nonsense, I'd like to know the damage before I start."
Black shook his head. "I don't think so."
Snape merely raised his brow.
"Nonsense?" Ari asked indignantly, trying to break the build-up of tension with a joke. "And that is coming from a man who does not even know how to open the door of a car? O how I am going to work you, my dear- You'd better wear something a bit less fancy next time- There will be a lot of dust to move and cobwebs to clear, I wager."
"It's not the spiders in the former doghouse I fear, madam- It's the flees."
"Snape- " Black grumbled.
"Leave him, Sirius." Lupin tried to calm his friend. "We should have taken something with us to press the knob with."
"Yes-", Snape said in a mellow voice and a sideways glance in Ari's direction. "Go find a stick-".
Snape did not need to add the word 'boy' to have it hanging in the air. Luckily, before things could get even more tense, Mrs Norris wandered quietly over to the base of the willow, avoiding the branches with graceful ease, and started prodding and scratching it. Suddenly the angry tree fell silent.
"Clever girl," beamed Filch. Lupin took out his wand. 'Lumos' he said, and went in, right behind the curious cat. Filch followed them. Ari was right behind Black and again, Snape made up the rear. Black looked over his shoulder at them and sneered.
"Mind your head."
Behind her, Ari thought she heard Snape softly curse again.
Ari felt left out, and she was not quite sure if it was a good thing or not. Black and Snape were bickering every step, to the despair of Lupin. Filch just did not seem to care, but sometimes Ari caught his eyes and he seemed to cheer the points Snape was scoring against Black. Filch was definitely not a dog person. He also seemed to have a more personal grudge against Lupin and Black, stemming from their schooldays.
Between Black and Snape there did not seem to exist a personal grudge- every sneer and look -screamed- there was one. The bickering was rather petty, on both accounts. Little boys away from the stern look of the headmaster being naughty and trying each other for what they could get away with. It annoyed Ari. Even if she did not know either man very well, nor their obvious history with each other, she had thought better of a couple of adults who were, for all intends and purposes, brothers in arms. And besides, the snarls and witty taunts Black and Snape dealt each other seemed to hurt Lupin.
Ari felt like Alice crawling down the rabbit hole. The gap was so narrow Hagrid would never have fitted.
The place seemed the den of some animal and certainly nothing more.
The wands of Lupin and Black and Filch's lamp shone their cheery lights in front of her, waiting for her at the bottom of a small slope. The ceiling of the tunnel that followed was so low, even Ari had to move in an awkward crouch.
"The first thing that has to be done is that this place must be widened! I refuse to walk this way every time I give a class and I -don't- care if it's done with magic or not!"
The men surrounding Ari chuckled.
"This place was not made for people, you know."
No, just wolves and dogs and their like- and the tunnel was perfectly fit for that kind of traffic.
Finally the tunnel began to rise somewhat. The tunnel twisted and gave way to a dull dusty room. No-one had lived here for ages, it seemed- but the last occupants had left a terrible mess.
The paper was peeling from the walls, the rug was stained so badly it's original colour was beyond recovery. There was a couch, toppled over, the cover shred to pieces and all the materials used for stuffing gathering dust all around the room. Broken chairs, a coffee table against the wall as if it had been picked up and violently thrown away. The windows were all boarded up. Ari sneezed. Lupin carefully picked his way through the mess, his wand tucked away again, towards one of the windows. He peered out.
"I wonder what this place will look like when it's all fixed up."
Black went to him and again touched his friend's shoulder.
"You really would like to see that, don't you?"
"This place is a mess. Putting it in order feels like- like some kind of reconciliation, really. These walls have seen a lot of me. It feels almost like- getting some part of my past sorted out. A final closure to the chapter."
There were bite marks on a lot of the furniture- old marks. Ari shivered and she felt deeply for the boy, now a man, who had to be locked in here with nothing to do but endure the curse in solitude. Looking around, she understood something of Lupin's gratitude towards -both- Black and Snape.
Snape rolled his eyes at the two men, but held his tongue for once and left the room, perhaps to explore the rest of the place.
The shack was just an ordinary house, with an attic, a second floor holding three bedrooms and a bathroom, and a first floor with a front room, as study and a kitchen. There was no cellar.
The whole place was derelict. The first thing that had to be done, was magic all of the windows to look like they had for the past twenty years, so nobody on the outside would suspect the changes within.
Ari roamed the house with Filch, writing down everything they would have to do and the supplies they needed. Ari was astonished to find the place did not even have electricity or gas. Generators would have to be installed in the attic.
The only pieces of furniture outside a rather large four-poster in one of the bedrooms, were the kitchen counter, the sink and the coal furnace. Being a wizard had its disadvantages, so it would seem. What would one of them do if they found themselves wandless and inexperienced in her side of the world? Starve?
Apparently the kitchen was the only room in the house that could hold Snape's interest. Ari found him peering inside the stove.
"Watch it- you will dirty yourself."
"With what- this thing has not been in use since before I studied at Hogwarts. This is a miserable place."
Snape stood, rubbing his hands to clear them of the dust.
"At least we have running water. What?"
Ari clamped her hand before her mouth, trying not to laugh. Snape had dust in his hair, a smudge on his chin and pale marks on his robes where his knees had touched the floor. Ari at least had been sensible enough to wear the pink robe, since she really did not care if the thing would survive the onslaught of their check-up and later cleaning expeditions. Sirius had been prowling around in the attic and looked a lot worse than Snape when he came down. Lupin busied himself with bewitching the windows and Filch was making an inventory of the work that had to be done in the bedrooms. He was the only one untouched by the grime of the building. Mrs. Norris had made herself comfortable on the bed, curled up and pretending to sleep.
"You- er- You are interested in stoves? Do you cook?"
"I know a thing or two about recipes."
"What is so interesting about the stove?"
"Heating devices have my interest. But although I do not doubt I could boil an egg quite reasonably on this thing, I don't think I could do much potion making here."
Black entered the kitchen, overhearing Snape's last remark.
"As usual, you are missing the point of this place."
The Animagus did not even seemed to notice the cobwebs in his manes or the small spider that tried to get out of his hair and away. He had put on some old robes that could handle a few stains more- they already looked as if he slept in the woods within them. There was dust on his elbows and knees, a big splodge on his front an a tear near the hem. Ari chuckled, looking him over.
"Had fun?"
Black gave her a nod, but did not allow himself to be distracted.
Snape shrugged. "On the contrary. I thought this whole scheme was meant to teach us some communication skills besides our usual channels. But I fear this to be quite a lost case with you."
Black walked in and pretended to be interested in the sink, standing quite close to Snape, invading his personal space. Lupin appeared in the door opening and cocked his head at them.
"At it again, are they?" he asked Ari. She stepped back a bit, leant with her back to the wall and nodded.
"Yes, and I am quite fed up with it already. How long have those two been at it? And how do you cope?"
They watched, as Snape and Black traded half hidden insults and snappy remarks, oblivious to the other two.
"Usually I don't have to. Either Sirius is posing as Snuffles or the Headmaster keeps them in line. Sirius puts in an effort to control himself around Harry too- And Snape just seems to be ditching out the acid he has been holding back for months. Don't ask me why he started just now-."
Ari narrowed her eyes at that, pushed back her glasses and shrugged.
"I do have some ideas-"
Lupin looked away as if hurt. His reply came somewhat strained. "You might be right- and I am sorry for it- Snape could never resist taunting either James or Sirius, and Sirius always wanted to play spoilsport for Severus- even if he-" the werewolf faltered.
"Wasn't really interested in winning?" Ari finished the sentence.
"You think so?" Lupin asked, both doubtful and hopeful at the same time.
"I think we should break up the children- it is past teatime already." Ari pushed herself away from the wall.
"O -gentlemen-, If you are ready, I think it is getting about time for us to leave."
Both Black and Snape snapped their heads in Ari's direction. Black turned again and sneered "You think you could find your way back, Snape. Last time you were not so terribly successful on your own-?"
"Sirius!" Lupin raised his voice somewhat, sounding rather exasperated.
Snape calmly crossed his arms over his chest, hands disappearing into his sleeves. The gesture made some alarms go off in Ari's mind-
"Last time's little fiasco ended in the escape of the murderer who consequently sought out Voldemort- And we all know how -that- ended!"
Blacke turned fully towards the Potions Master. Ari could only see his back, but she could make out how the man tensed up, and he was flexing fist, preparing to strike.
"If -you- had not been such a stupid, -childish- git and had -listened- for a change, non of that would have happened in the first place!"
Snape smiled coldly, as if unaffected by Black's building rage- but his eyes were livid.
"Well," he drawled, "perhaps next time you and that little friend of yours will put some more thoughts in your exploits and make yourselves a bit clearer, before using that mindless Gryffindor mentality to simply jump into the fray that makes you so wonderfully forgetful of important details- Like taking ones medicine on time!"
Lupin stiffened. If Snape was only remotely implying what Ari thought he was, his remarks were totally uncalled for. While squabbling with Black he lashed out at Lupin, hurting both men with something that apparently had something to do with Lupin's affliction. And that was plain mean.
Lupin stepped back quietly, turned and left the scene without saying a word. Black circled Snape somewhat, pale and with a tiny crouch in his stance, betraying his desire and readiness to let the argument come to blows any second. Ari hesitated a moment between following the hurt werewolf and stepping in between the men.
Snape slowly changed his stance, quite subtly. Body language betraying he too was ready to fight. That stance was enough for Black.
"You -bastard-!" he yelled, taking a swing at Snape's jaw. But Snape gracefully moved out of harms way and retaliated with a kick directed at Black's groin- The Animagus moved with less stealth, but faster and his second blow got Snape in the stomach. Snape doubled over, turned and gave Black a double handed blow on the kidneys that made him yelp first and the growl, as Snape kicked his legs from under him. The Animagus kicked back viciously, nearly breaking a knee. Snape fell over Black and the men started to kick, punch, pull at hair and shout like fighting schoolboys, taking turns at being on top and punching the other where they could.
Ari shouted for the men to stop, but if anything her words only seemed to enrage them more. She started looking for a bucket so she could literally cool them of with cold water, when she saw Filch in the doorway, looking very amused at the fight.
"Do something!" Ari yelled at the caretaker, but he shook his head.
"Don't interfere, miss. Those two have had this coming for years- just let them get it out of their system."
"But-"
"Look at them- neither of them is really serious- They haven't drawn their wands, now have they?"
Snape and Black pushed themselves past Filch and Ari into the living room where they had more space to move. The sad remains of the furniture were soon flying around Ari heard something being thrown and crashing and Snape's voice shouting 'ha, you missed!' followed with a shout, a bang and another outcry.
"Are you telling me this is some inane male -bonding ritual- or something? That next those two idiots will quietly find themselves a pub and go compare bruises? For goodness sake- Didn't they realise how much they have hurt Remus! This is childish!"
Filch shrugged and bent down to pet his cat, who had appeared from nowhere and was rubbing herself against his legs for attention.
"Those two were children when this started and the never got the chance to settle the score. They'll feel better after this."
"Oh!" Ari growled, utterly frustrated with the lot of them and turned towards the living. The destruction in the room was total and a lot worse than before- even if Ari had not thought it possible. Both men were winded and eyed each other viciously over some distance. Their clothes were torn, Black seemed to be developing a wonderfully coloured black eye and Snape's bottom lip was swollen and bleeding.
"Well, have you two -quite- finished now?"
"Keep out of this," Snape warned breathless with a snarl.
"Oh- grow up, you two!"
Black laughed- but it was by no means a merry laugh. It sounded harsh and spiteful.
"What is it, Snape me boy? Still need some skirt to hide behind? Shame poor Lily is not here to come to your defence now- isn't it?"
With an uncharacteristic roar, Snape jumped out of his corner, took a swing at Blacks face, missed, but got him in the ribs and continued pouncing where he could.
"Leave Lily out of this! If it weren't for your stupidity, she'd -still- be alive!"
Now Black screamed- and started fighting the other man with a viciousness that belayed Filch's remark about not being serious. This -was- serious, very much so.
But Ari could no longer look at those stupid fools who refused to let themselves be appeased. She picked up the caretaker's lantern and quickly slipped past the two idiots, who were still snarling insults, kicking and punching.
Filch had followed Ari and stared at the fight with interest. But then he saw Ari take his lamp.
"Where're you off to now?"
"I'm going after Remus! You watch the children. And please, -try- to make them play -nice- for a change?"
Filch grinned. There was a tight knot of robes rolling over the floor now, occasionally banging into something and still kicking.
"Too late for that, I'm afraid."
Quickly now, Ari entered the passageway. Around the bend, she could see a shimmer of light- Lupin's wand. She yelled at him to wait- but he did not and Ari felt compelled to hurry after him as quick as she could, closely followed by Mrs Norris.
Finally, Ari came up from the gap beneath the Womping Willow. Apparently the tree guarded only for people going in- not out, for it remained quiet. Ari looked out over the field towards the school- but she could not see the werewolf. Yet she was certain he had not been able to cross the distance that quickly.
So he had to have turned to seek solace in the dark forest behind the willow. Ari could understand that- she herself could do with a stroll in the woods. She started out to follow a path leading in- and nearly tripped over Filch's cat!
"Now what is this, Mrs Norris- do you want to come with me?"
But the cat only meowed, rubbed her back against Ari's legs, walked towards the school a few paces and went back again.
"You want me to come with you, don't you? Sorry, Mrs. Norris, but I can't."
Ari turned. Mrs. Norris swept past her, stood on the middle of the path, raised her thickened tail, back high and yellow eyes blazing with fury.
Ari did took one step back.
"You are trying to warn me for something, aren't you?" Ari asked. The cat meowed again.
But Ari, haunted by the look she had seen on Lupin's face, shook her head and choose to ignore her.
"Silly cat! It's just trees in there- There are no monsters in those woods or I would have been told about them, now wouldn't I? I'll see you later!"
Purposefully Ari strode past the meowing and hissing cat, and when Ari turned to see if the cat was following her, She saw Mrs Norris in a dead run, back to the Womping Willow.
With a smile on her face and the lantern in her hand, she turned and quickly strode forward, telling herself not to leave the path, in the hope a quick stride would enable her to catch up with the werewolf soon.
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Sophie W, did I just got myself a Howler (grin)?
Sllea; in real life there are some countries where you are forbidden to take a picture of somebody without asking first, because the people believe you might catch their soul. I think the pictures have something of a life of their own, taking on the personality of the person in the picture as if the picture has captured and copied their personality as well. Thank you for showing me the typo- I've changed it.
Thanks lunarmouse, Sianna, Piri Malfoy (not the dungeons, no- but I'd love to see him fight some unruly wallpaper in the Shrieking shack!), Miracle (really great you like the song! Really big bear hug back!), Leila C. Snape, An Owl (o my gosh- I really do not know what to say to that one), Chipie36 (evenif they did get in a fight in this chapter, I do not dislike Black, I merely think Snape and Black have some issues, thanks for noticing!), Xara, Aliera (not just yet- but nearly!), Lionheart Eternal, Lila Mae, StEdWa, (don't I wish!), Crimsonthorne, Lala (so what is the other story I wanna -read- it!), Strega Brava, Angel, none (takes none by the hand and starts dancing too), MeJaimieMe, kiriko Himura, Starfire, Slytherin girl, Troy, Mae Noelle, Rugi Gwena, Lataradk (I have the same kind of long suffering friends you do. GO RICKMAN!), Starbite (thanks!), Ozma (Thanks- I'm still reading your Filch story- the way you make Snape human in caring for -his- children is wonderfull!), SilverStarlightAngel, and Elspeth (yes, it does).