Chapter 31: Attack

When the winter holidays arrived that year, we all decided to stay at Hogwarts, and spend our last Christmas as students there together. The holiday came and went, as did the full moon that followed two days later. But the bad part didn't start until the morning of New Years Eve.

James and Sirius had spent two entire days on the quidditch field, training for the match against Slytherin right after the holidays. Lily, Erin, Peter and I had barely seen them at all. By the time we went to breakfast that morning, James and Sirius were already out on the field.

"Guess they already left," said Lily, observing James and Sirius' empty seats at breakfast.

"Yeah, we haven't seen them at all lately. This will be the third day," said Erin.

"Well, you know, quidditch is practically their lives," I pointed out.

"Well, they've got girlfriends too," said Lily. "But I guess we don't count as a part of their lives, seeing that they don't even talk to us." I wanted to say something back to her, but I didn't get a chance because just then, the mail arrived. A large black owl swooped down and landed on our table, nearest to me. It had a letter.

"Do you guys recognize this owl?" I asked. I'd never seen an owl like it before; so large and black, with flaming red eyes.

"No," said Lily. "But open it." I took the letter from the owl, who flew from the table, circled around the room twice, then flew out a window. I opened the letter. It said:

Dear Remus, Peter, Lily and Erin,

We're sorry that we haven't seen you much lately. Come to the quidditch field after you eat breakfast today so we can talk. See you soon.

James and Sirius

"It's from James and Sirius," I said when I finished reading it.

"But they don't have an owl that looks like that," said Lily, taking the letter from my hands.

"Maybe it's a school owl?" suggested Peter.

"No," said Erin. "I use the school owls, and they don't have one that looks like that."

"Well, should we go see what they're up to after we finish?" I asked.

"Of course we are," said Lily. "It's probably some prank they're planning on us."

"I don't know," said Erin doubtfully. "I didn't like the looks of that owl."

"Oh, come on," said Peter. "It's probably just a school owl that you haven't seen before. They would have had to use one because Sirius just sent Ernie to his sister last night."

"So we'll go right after breakfast," I said.

"I think I'll stay," said Erin, frowning. "I mean, if they want to talk to us that badly, the can come and see us themselves."

"Well, I'm going out there and James Potter is going to hear what I think of him and his constant quidditch practicing, and it's not going to be pleasant!" said Lily. "They think they can just go off and not talk to us for three days, and then they can't even come to us! What nerve!"

"Okay, well then, let's go," I said, trying to ignore Lily's ranting and Erin's doubtfulness. I began to walk towards the entrance hall, and the three of them followed. We exited through the large oak door, walked across the grounds, avoiding the Whomping Willow, took the path through the forbidden forest that led to the quidditch field, and finally arrived. We glanced around. No one. Nothing.

"I can't believe this!" Lily exclaimed. "They didn't even show up! They can't even keep…" Lily went silent from behind me, and I heard a thump. Erin shrieked. I turned my head and had just enough time to catch a glimpse of someone who looked a lot like Beaker, our potions teacher holding his wand ready to cast a spell, and Lily and Erin collapsed on the field, before I felt my body being hit with a spell.

I awoke what must have been hours later, because the sun was now shining brightly overhead. I squinted my eyes in the light and saw that I was in a forest. Puzzled, I tried to move, and realized that I could not. I looked down, and found that by body was bound tightly to a tree, from my neck to my ankles. I wiggled, but it was no use. I thought about where I was, and remembered what had happened earlier that day. Was it a dream? I wasn't sure. I tried to turn my head and look for Lily, Erin and Peter. I saw Lily first, tied to a tree on my left. She was still unconscious. I looked for Erin and Peter. I found Erin tied to a tree a little to my right, in front of me. Her blue eyes were wide with fear, looking at me, and she was pale as a ghost. She mouthed something to me, silently.

"What?" I mouthed back.

"Vol-de-mort," she mouthed back. I didn't know whether or not to believe her.

"Did you see him?" I mouthed back. She didn't understand. I asked again.

"What the hell…?" Lily's voice came from her tree. "What's going on?" she asked in a panicked tone. I looked to Erin to answer, since it seemed that she knew more than me, but I saw her staring off into the woods between Lily and I. It only took a second for us to figure out what she was staring at.

"Hello there, friends of Sirius Black," said a high pitched, evil voice, in a sickeningly calm, quiet tone, belonging to a shadowy, dark tall figure lingering in the shadows of the trees. Lord Voldemort emerged into the light.

"Help! Help!" shrieked Lily, at the sight of him.

"Silence, foolish girl!" he bellowed, gagging her, which only muffled her screams. "You'll all be perfectly fine, providing that your friend Sirius cooperates, that is."

"What are you going to do with Sirius?" I questioned without thinking.

"Ah, a curious one, huh?" cackled Voldemort. "Well, perhaps you're curious as to how a little spell would feel right now. Crucio!" It was pain like I'd never felt before. Thousands of knives were piercing my skin, and I was burning all over. I screamed like I'd never screamed before, but I couldn't hear my voice. All I could hear was that horrible, cackling laugh. And then the pain was gone. I was barely conscious. I was so weak that if I hadn't been tied to the tree, I'd have surely collapsed. I heard from somewhere far away, the sounds of Lily and Erin shrieking. My vision began to fade to blackness, and I slipped away.

I awoke once again, unaware of my surroundings. I felt leaves beneath me. I was no longer tied to the tree, but lying on the ground. I could still feel rope that bound my arms behind my back. My head throbbed with pain, and there was a horrible ringing in my ears.

"He's awake," I heard a voice whisper. I blinked my eyes, and saw Erin leaning over me.

"Good," said another voice. I looked over and saw Lily sitting next to me. "Remus?" she asked.

"Yeah?" I said.

"Are you all right? He was really hard on you with that spell."

"I'm fine," I muttered, trying to pull myself into a sitting position. I wasn't sure what was going on, but I had to be strong for the girls.

"We-we thought you were dead," said Erin quietly, trembling.

"Where is he?" I asked.

"We don't know," replied Lily. "He went away and left us here, but he untied us from the trees first."

"I wonder why?" said Erin. "I mean, why did he untie us?"

"It's probably part of a plan," I said. "I'll bet he expects us to run for it, and then come after us. We'd be playing right into his hands if we tried to get away." Then, something else crossed my mind. "Where's Peter?"

"I don't know," said Lily. "He's been gone since this morning when Beaker stunned us."

"He must have gone for help," said Erin hopefully. "He'll save us."

"What happened to Beaker?" I asked.

"We don't know," said Lily. "We don't know anything about what's going on. But apparently Voldemort wants something with Sirius." Erin began to sob quietly. I looked at Lily and noticed that her face was stained with tears as well.

"It's okay," I said. "We'll be fine. Peter will get Dumbledore, and we'll get out of this." I wished I could be more confident about what I was saying. With a pop, Voldemort appeared in front of us again.

"Didn't I tell the three of you to be silent?" he asked. "You'll learn. You'll learn to listen to Lord Voldemort. If you don't listen, you'll pay dearly." He waved his wand and the three of us were gagged.

"Now, we're going to have a little visitor," said Voldemort, shaping his contorted face into a twisted smile, which was more horrible than anything I'd ever seen. Next to him appeared Sirius, looking dazed and drowsy.

"Meet me here in the forest tonight, Black," Voldemort spoke to him. "Or your friends will die a very painful death, understand?" Sirius nodded, looking miserable and confused. Voldemort bent down and touched Erin's cheek. She flinched and tried to move away. Then Voldemort's wand pointed in my direction again. "Crucio." I felt the pain again, like before, but it didn't last as long. I felt it stop, and drifted back to unconsciousness just as I saw Sirius fade away, and heard Voldemort shout crucio to either Lily or Erin.

When I awoke the next time, it was early evening. Voldemort had gone. Lily and Erin were sitting a few feet away, surrounding someone who was lying on the ground. I crawled closer to them.

"Remus!" said Erin. "It's Sirius. Someone brought him out here." I looked down at Sirius, who had a large cut on his forehead, and was still unconscious.

"Sirius?" I said. "Sirius! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said. "But what about you guys?"

"We're all right," I answered. Sirius looked around, frowning.

"Where are we?"

"Somewhere in the Forbidden Forest," I replied.

"We got a note from you and James this morning," said Lily shakily. "It said to meet you guys at the quidditch field after breakfast, but when we got there, someone stunned us and brought us here." Sirius got a strange look on his face.

"What did he do to you?" he demanded. The question was directed to me. I knew what he was thinking of. He'd seen Voldemort put the crucio curse on me earlier when Voldemort had brought him out.

"Nothing," I replied quickly.

"So, where's Voldemort?" asked Sirius. "And Beaker?"

"Beaker?" screeched Erin. "What does he have to do with this?" Sirius explained that Beaker had dragged him from the castle, stunned him, and brought him to the Forbidden Forest. I couldn't believe it. I'd been right.

"Come here guys, I'll untie you," said Sirius. He untied all of our hands.

"So, shouldn't we try to get out of here now?" asked Erin.

"I don't think it's a good idea," I replied. "Voldemort is probably around here somewhere just waiting for us to try to escape. He wouldn't just leave us unattended. Besides, I think Peter is getting help."

"Peter's getting help? Right! It's been hours! I knew Peter was slow, but not that slow! And I don't trust him! There's something about him that bothers me! He could be the whole reason we're here in the first place!" shouted Erin. We glanced at each other, surprised, because Erin rarely shouted.

"Come on, Erin, he's Peter. He might not be that smart, but he's our friend," said Sirius, trying to comfort Erin.

"I know," whispered Erin, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Where's James?" asked Lily suddenly.

"He's back at the castle," said Sirius. "But I don't think he knows what's going on." We froze in silence, as Beaker emerged from the trees. Following him, a tall, dark, shadowy figure emerged. The December air suddenly felt ten times as cold and the rush of wind pierced our skin. Lily and Erin shuddered from fear, and I knew I was shaking too, from a mixture of fear and cold. Lord Voldemort was back.

"Black," he said in a sickening tone, dripping with sarcasm. "So nice of you to join us. Now we can begin."

"What do you want from me?" demanded Sirius, leaping to his feet. Sit down, Sirius, I thought. For God sake, sit down! You don't know what you're getting yourself into. Voldemort's laughter pierced the air.

"I thought someone as bright as you would have figured it out, Black. Perhaps that old muggle lover they call your headmaster isn't doing his job. Perhaps your little werewolf friend knows what I'm talking about. After all, werewolves are dark creatures."

A chill ran down my spine. I gulped, and stared at the ground, squeezing my eyes shut tightly and cringing. It all seemed so unreal. It was just a dream. Voldemort didn't really want all of us dead.

"What are you talking about?" shouted Sirius.

"Why, foolish boy, don't you know your destiny?" sneered Voldemort. "What fool of a headmaster doesn't tell a student about such a bright, or should I say dark, future. It is you destiny to join the dark arts."

"I will never join you," said Sirius in a threatening tone, barely above a whisper. Voldemort laughed.

"Suit yourself. I'm sure you're little friends won't mind a little pain," cackled Voldemort. "Let's see, I think another round would finish the werewolf off." I froze with fear as he raised his wand and pointed it at me. Sirius looked ready to launch himself at Voldemort. I tried to mentally tell Sirius not to do anything stupid. But Voldemort lowered his wand. "Perhaps that's not a good idea just yet. How about these girls? The blonde, you love her, don't you?"

"Don't you touch her!" shouted Sirius, as Voldemort's wand pointed toward Erin. Erin looked petrified as Voldemort turned his wand to Sirius.

"I guess I could just kill you now," said Voldemort. "Although it would have been much more fun to torture you first." He muttered something, and a flash of green light flew from his wand and hit Sirius. He instantly fell to the ground.

"NO!" I shouted. Erin and Lily both shrieked too, and began to cry. Sirius lay motionless on the ground, and every single one of us shared the same horrible thought. Could Sirius be dead? Even Voldemort just stood and stared. Finally, I thought I saw Sirius's foot move. I thought I might have been imagining it, until finally, he slowly began to stand. I gasped. Though his robes were stained with blood, he looked strong and healthy. Voldemort's face fell. He was more shocked than we were. Sirius, more stupid than brave, hurled himself at Voldemort, kicking and punching. The three of us were now to our feet, watching in shocked horror at what Sirius was doing.

"Run!" Sirius gasped as he still fought Voldemort. "I mean it! Run!"

"I won't leave you here!" I shouted back.

"I'll be fine!" he shouted. "Just take the girls and get back! Before it's too late. I'll follow!" Lily grabbed my arm and began to drag me in the direction of the school, which wasn't difficult since I was too weak to protest. As I ran, I glanced back. Sirius had now abandoned Voldemort and had nearly caught up to Erin, who was right behind Lily and I. We're going to make it out of this, I thought. Just then, I caught a glimpse of Voldemort raising his wand.

"Look out!" I shouted back to Sirius and Erin. But it was no use. The curse had hit Erin and she fell to the ground.

"Wait up!" I tried to tell Lily, who hadn't seen, but she continued running, still firmly gripping my arm. I tried to slow her down, but Sirius saw me from where he was bent over Erin, trying to get her to her feet. Voldemort was approaching them.

"Keep going!" he shouted. "We're fine! Just go!" We continued to run, against my will. I tried to look back as we ran, and I thought I caught a glimpse of a flash of green light, although I could have been mistaken. At the edge of the forest we found Dumbledore and James rushing towards us.