Circle of Friends
*Chapter Four*
New Discoveries and Curiosity
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by Hype
"In this life it`s hard to tell what`s false and what is true."
-I really have no idea who, I just thought it was a nifty quote.
James Potter starred out of the dormitory window. It was very early in the morning, and the dew on the Hogwarts grounds was still fresh and beginning to gleam in the rising sun`s light. James` hazel eyes scanned over the landscape, taking in the vast, still-shadowed stretch of trees across the horizon that was the edge of the Forbidden Forest. He didn't exactly know why it was forbidden, but his imagination had come up with many possible reasons. He was determined to go in to the forest one day just to see what it was like; it was also more than likely that Sirius Black and Remus Lupin would accompany him on this future expedition, as it seemed the three were often joined at the hip.
James squinted out the window against the glare of the sun on the surface of the pane of glass and his eyes caught on a particularly interesting tree on the edge of the Forbidden Forrest which was now illuminated by the sunlight. He supposed it wouldn't have been interesting if the tree`s branches weren't flailing about in the air. He looked closer and noticed that there were several wizards at the base of it doing what looked like a desperate attempt to get closer to the vicious tree. Why they wanted to do this was beyond James, but the question was answered when a wizard succeeded and pressed a knot on the trunk of the tree, causing it to suddenly become still. James` eyebrows knitted together and he wondered why a tree like that would be permitted on the Hogwarts grounds. James pushed his glasses up further on his nose and shrugged, turning around to leave his dormitory and go to the common room; he didn't feel like waiting for Sirius to get up out of bed, as Sirius was quite prone to sleep in as late as possible, wake up in panic, and proceed to run around the room like a chicken with its head cut off in desperation to get ready for breakfast and lessons in the total time of thirty seconds.
James Potter walked down the spiral staircase to the Gryffindor common room with ease only to stop halfway and find that the common room was completely deserted. In slight alarm, he checked his watch and saw that it was only a quarter past six in the morning. He sighed with relief, glad that he wasn't`t late for anything. As usual, the fire was newly cackling in the fireplace, compliments of the elusive Hogwarts house-elves. James had woken up early on a couple of occasions just to catch a glimpse of them but always ended in failure. He knew what house-elves looked like, of course, for he had several himself at the Potter Estate, but he was curious to see whether these elves looked any different from his own. Sometimes his curiosity got the better of him. Well, okay, most of the time.
James started towards the warm fire and the most comfortable poufs with the bottoms of his shoes clicking importantly on the wooden floor`s surface. As he neared his pouf of choice, he took his glasses off and set them on a nearby table, letting his eyes relax. He rubbed the sore spot on the bridge of his nose tiredly before he sat down on something that felt most unlike the familiar cushion of the pouf. A loud scream sounded and James quickly clamped his hands over his ears, trying his best to protect them from the horrid sound.
"JAMES POTTER!" screeched a familiar voice.
James looked down, though almost in vain, for he was still without his glasses. He looked at a colorful blob that appeared to have a reddish something on top of its head. He blinked hard, his eyes coming in and out of focus. "Evans?" he asked, confused, still trying to gain his bearings.
"What on earth were you trying to do? Squash me to death?!"
Yep. It was Lily Evans. James shook his head, stood up, and reached behind him, grabbing his glasses off the table. He put them back on and looked down to see a very upset Lily Evans. No, upset was the wrong word; slightly furious, more like. "Good morning, Lily," said James evenly and pleasantly, as though he congratulating her victory of becoming the supreme ruler of the universe, which would, of course, never happen.
"What was the meaning of that?" she asked indigently, standing up and smoothing out a few wrinkles in her robes.
"What? The 'good morning'? Just being friendly, that`s all."
"Sitting on me is not what I would consider friendly, Potter," she snapped.
A smirk crossed James' features. "Well, speaking of friendly..."
Lily`s lips went tight and she suddenly looked suspiciously at James. "What are you doing up so early?" she asked, her head tilted slightly to the right, her red hair looking abnormally bright due to the morning sunlight that was now seeping through the windows in the common room.
James simply stared at her for a moment, caught in awe at her hair. Suddenly, he snapped out of it when she tapped her foot down on the floor impatiently. "I was going to visit Remus," he said, though he knew it was a complete lie. He had gotten up early because Sirius was snoring again, but he wasn't about to tell Evans that.
"Good. I wanted to go see him myself," she said importantly, shaking back her long sheet of red hair.
"You don`t look like it," James said, smiling slightly as he took in her disarrayed appearance. Her curly hair was slightly frizzy, her robes wrinkled, and she had slight bags under her eyes. He also noticed that her mascara was dried in long streaks down her blushing cheeks. Completely forgetting that he wasn't supposed to be concerned for Lily, he asked, "Lily? Have you been crying?"
She suddenly looked down at her shoes. "Er...no, I haven`t..."
James frowned at her and took a tentative step in her direction. "Are you sure? Why didn't you go up to your dormitory last night? Lily, are you okay?"
Lily was genuinely surprised at the sincerity James was showing after all this time. Nervously, she tucked a piece of her hair back behind her ear before she sat back on the large pouf again. James followed her action and sat next to her on the pouf, causing her to budge up a bit against the side. Lily bit her lower lip. "I...I must have just fallen asleep."
James frowned again. "Lily, that isn't`t true...Your mascara is all dried on your cheeks....You were crying. Lily, what`s wrong?" As soon as he said this, Lily burst into tears and flung her arms around him, clinging onto him for dear life. "Whoa, Lily....Clam down..." he said awkwardly, placing a free arm around her back. "Shhh...It`s okay..."
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Sirius Black burst into the Great Hall late for breakfast again. If he wasn't so prone to do so every morning, people would have been scared out of their wits, but it was now considered a common occurrence. Sirius quickly made his way over to the Gryffindor table were James was sitting. He took his seat, helped himself to the eggs, toast, and bacon before him. He looked across from him to see Lily and James talking before he looked back down at his food and began to shovel it into his mouth. Halfway thru his helping of eggs, he looked up again and spit out the remainder of his food onto his plate. Lily and James were sitting together.
James was constantly looking up from his Transfiguration book to look at Lily meaningfully over the rim of his glasses. Lily, however, was so absorbed in her Charms book that she failed to notice James looking at her, let alone the food in front of her. Sirius gasped and noticed that James- James Potter, of all people- hadn't touched one bit of his food all morning. The eggs looked lonely and deserted, the pumpkin juice was full to the goblet`s rim and looked as though it was getting warmer, and, Sirius noted with great horror, none of the bacon was touched. He gasped again, then it truly hit him: James and Lily were sitting together. Together....oh, the horror.
"Er....Did I miss something?" Sirius asked, taking a break from his eggs and looking at the two people opposite him. Lily didn't say anything; however, he did receive a kick in the shin from James. James shot a I`ll-tell-you-later look at Sirius. Sirius Black nodded quickly and said, "Is Remus still in the infirmary?"
Lily looked up from her book at Sirius. "Yes, he is. Apparently his condition has not gotten any better. Potter and I tried to visit him early this morning, but Madame Potts told us he was much too ill to visit right now. I thought we should try again during lunch," she said.
James nodded and looked down in front of him. Suddenly, he became aware of his food and he too began to shovel it into his mouth. Just as he started on his bacon strips, the bubbly third year girl named Baylor skipped over and took a seat across from James. "Hi, James!" she said, twisting a lock of her blonde hair around her index finger once again, idly giggling through her perfectly-glossed pink lips.
"Hi, Bala," he said lamely, taking a sip of what was left of the pumpkin juice out of his goblet.
She took absolutely no notice of her name being mistaken. "Um...What are you doing this weekend, Jamsie?" she asked, suddenly leaning forward and partially displaying her chest. Sirius snorted at James` new nickname, then leaned forward to get a good look at Baylor`s display case before sitting back down in his former position. Lily simply looked disgusted.
"Nothing," said James, pushing his glasses up on his nose, which had somehow managed to slide to the very end for the second time that morning.
Baylor giggled and Lily rolled her eyes. Baylor tossed her blonde hair back over her shoulder and tried to get James` attention. "I was thinking, Jamsie-"
Lily muttered, "That`s a first," under her breath, and Baylor didn't notice, as usual. However, Sirius did, and he snorted into his pumpkin juice, making it bubble up and slightly spill over the rims.
" - you could go to...um...Hogsmeade with me," she said hopefully, batting her heavily painted eyes at him (well, she had to balance the Ruby Tuesday lipstick somehow, which was, Lily noticed, quite possibly visible from Venus).
"Whatever," said James distractedly, pushing his now empty plate away from him and pulling his Transfiguration book open again. This was perhaps not the wisest thing to say, for Baylor suddenly went into a state of hyperventilation, jumped up, and ran to a group of equally hyperventilating girls at the other end of the Gryffindor table.
"Oy, Jamsie," Sirius teased as he looked at the group of girls, "do you like that Baylor girl?"
James looked up at him blankly from his book. "Who?"
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Remus sat in the infirmary squinting against the bright sunlight spilling in through the windows. The entire infirmary was painted a brilliant white itself, and the sunlight was only reflecting off of it, making it appear even brighter than it actually was. He was starting to wish that he had a pair of the muggle sunglasses that Professor Dumbledore had worn during their first lesson of the year. Remus, despite the lack of sunglasses, continued to look around the room. No one was in the infirmary with him- not even Madame Potts. The cots were lined in two long rows on both sides of the room. Each cot had bleach-white, paper-thin blankets on them and one solitary white pillow. The floor, he noticed, was the only thing in the room that wasn't`t white. It was a gloomy blue-gray and had black streaks where the soles of the student`s shoes had slid across the surface. Also, the entire floor was somehow coated in a thin, sticky layer that made your shoes make odd squelching sounds when you walked.
It felt oddly depressing sitting there alone in the infirmary with no one to talk to. He knew perfectly why no one was in there, too. Headmaster Dippet had ordered that the room be evacuated due to Remus` so-called 'abnormal' condition. In fact, Remus was quite positive that Madame Potts wanted to leave the room as soon as possible, for Remus kept throwing tantrums. Indeed, Potts had fled and locked the doors behind her, leaving his only companions to be a bed pan and a deck of cards. However, after an hour or so, Remus had grown tired of flipping the cards into the bed pan and had retired to his lonely, stiff cot once again.
He sighed, and it seemed to echo across the room. He hated his condition. He hated being a werewolf. He hated not being allowed to tell his friends what he was. Of course, he was grateful that he wasn't`t kicked out of Hogwarts for being a werewolf, though. Somehow Professor Dumbledore had managed to convince Professor Dippet to let him stay. He supposed he was supposed to stay in the infirmary when he changed, but he knew that no matter how many magical wards they put up around the infirmary, he would still be able to get through. He didn't want to get through, though, for that meant that he might harm someone, which would most diffidently get him expelled from Hogwarts. Remus closed his eyes, for once wishing he could be back home.
A short click was heard from the opposite side of the room. Remus` brown eyes shot open in alarm, for he knew that anyone who went near him could be in danger. His eyes quickly adjusted and narrowed on a tall person entering the room and shutting the door behind him. When the figure turned around, Remus gasped. "Professor Dumbledore! You shouldn't`t be in here!"
Dumbledore smiled kindly and sat on the cot next to Remus. "Hello, Remus," he said, looking down at the slightly terrified boy. "I`m here to tell you tonight`s procedure."
"Tonight`s procedure?" Remus asked, unsure of what he was getting at. He normally wouldn't have been so unsure, but as he was so startled as to why his Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher would be in the same room with him right before his transformation, he was.
"Yes, tonight`s procedure. Tonight is the full moon, as you are well aware. See out that window behind you?"he asked, pointing to it. Remus stood up and looked out the window to see a large willow tree. "That`s the Whomping Willow. Underneath it is a passage way that will take you to a shack on top of the hill overlooking Hogsmeade. You will stay there until you are done with your transformation. After you are done, you may return to Hogwarts and presume your lessons and activities."
Remus gaped at him. "But sir, I don`t see how a tree is going to keep me from getting....getting near people...and..."
"Tell you what, Remus, why don`t you come with me?" Dumbledore asked, standing up to his full height and offering a hand to Remus.
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Lily Evans looked down at her blank sheaf of parchment. She was in her History of Magic class and was supposed to be taking notes. She would have, too, if it wasn't for that blasted James Potter. No matter how much she tried she just couldn't seem to get her mind off him. True, she supposed that he was all that bad, for nearly every girl that saw him practically tripped over in astonishment. He was the James Potter, the only son of one of the most prestigious wizarding couples in Great Britain. He was supposed to hate her, and she was supposed to hate him. She did hate him...sort of. Lily tapped her neatly-painted nails (or once neatly-painted nails, for excessive digging in the Herbology greenhouses was causing it to chip off) absentmindedly on the corner of her desk. Yes, she thought to herself, I hate James. No, Potter, she corrected herself. She let out a sigh of exasperation. She bit on her quill too hard, and ink squirted all over her desktop. Frustrated, Lily wiped up the mess with the aforementioned blank parchment and quickly crumpled it up, leaving it a crinkly, ink-stained heap on the corner of her desk.
Sirius, who had been watching Lily with somewhat of an amused expression on his face, arched his eyebrow towards the ceiling when Lily collapsed onto her desk and let out a long sigh. He knew that she was thinking about the James. She had been all day, just as James had been thinking of her all day. Even though they didn't tell him, Sirius could tell that something had happened between Lily and James that morning. There was some unspoken agreement between them to not talk about it, too. However, as Sirius was always into the middle of things, he wanted to know what exactly that was.
"Psst....Lily!" he whispered at her.
Lily`s head shot up from its resting place on her desk. "What?"
"What`s going on between you and James?"
Lily frowned and tried to look busy by shuffling through the vast, boring pages of Hogwarts: A History. "Nothing," she said, pausing on a page with the history of Rowena Ravenclaw, one of the founders of Hogwarts.
Sirius, of course, was not convinced by her act, as he had four sisters of his own that did the very same thing, Thyme in particular. "No, really. What happened this morning?"
Lily`s frown deepened. "I`ll tell you later tonight," she said, closing her book and putting it back in her rucksack. "But for now," she added pleasantly, "class is over." Sirius glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was nearly half past noon. Not wanting to miss lunch, Sirius desperately shoved all of his belongings into his sack and stood up, rushing out the door after Lily.
After he was halfway down the hall, he realized that Lily was not going down the corridor that lead to the Great Hall. "Oy! Lil! Where are you going?" he shouted after her. She suddenly stopped and turned around, almost causing Sirius to run into her. "You forgot already? Honestly, Si, you`re almost as bad as Potter! We`re going to visit Remus in the infirmary, remember?"
Sirius, as casually as possible, ran a hand through his black hair and smiled. A passing second year ran into the wall as she watched him. Pretending he did not notice this, he said, "Oh, of course I remember...Right, then. Let`s go."
Lily shook her head but continued to smile. "You`re helpless, Black. C`mon, now," she said, grabbing his hand and dragging him along behind her.
When they reached the entrance of the infirmary, Lily and Sirius found James pounding furiously on the door and shouting so loud that all of the people in the nearby paintings had fled to the next corridor over. James, upon seeing them, abruptly stopped and looked at them. His hair was even more untidy than usual, his thin, black-rimmed glasses had slid to the tip of his nose again, and his face was a brilliant shade of red from his shouting. "Well, hello there," he said, adjusting the collar of his black robes. "Guess what? The door`s locked and no one will answer. Madame Potts wouldn't even come when I said I had a broken arm."
"Well, Potter," said Lily, rolling her bright green eyes, "that is probably because the notice on the door says that the infirmary has moved to the third corridor on the sixth floor." Lily nodded in the direction of the bright pink piece of parchment posted on the side of the door. Sure enough, she was right.
James inspected it with a look of absolute fury on his face. "Well, I was just double-checking, you know. Never can be too sure," he lied, trying to cover up the fact that he had completely missed a two foot long piece of brilliant pink parchment that was the notice.
Sirius chuckled. "Honestly, Black, you`re as helpless as that blonde girl you`re going to Hogsmeade with." Lily giggled and cupped her hand over her mouth, trying to stifle it.
James looked stunned. "You mean she was serious?" he asked, suddenly looking terrified.
Sirius let out a snort of laughter. "James! She`s been after you since the first day of school! Of course she`s serious!"
James staggered back a couple of feet and leaned against the door of the former infirmary. "You`re kidding, right?"
Lily stepped in: "No, he`s not. Rumors are flying all over the school about you two. Do you mean to say that she isn't your girlfriend?"
"NO!" shrieked James, his breathing becoming frantic. "I don`t like her at all!"
Sirius let a rueful grin break across his face. "Really? She looked rather...well, pretty...especially in those robes- "
"Beauty isn't everything," snapped Lily, tapping her foot on the floor, making the sound echo down the practically empty corridor.
Sirius kept grinning. "Aww, Lil, don`t worry. You`re beautiful. Even James said so."
James` head shot up from its former position. He truly looked terrified now. "Si!" he said harshly, his hazel eyes opened to their fullest extent. Normally, James would have said it louder, but he was in too much of shock at what Sirius had just said. True, he had told Sirius that Lily Evans was beautiful. Gorgeous, even. How couldn't she be? She had long, tanned legs, beautiful, curly red hair, and the most brilliant green eyes he had ever seen in his life. Currently, those brilliant green eyes were wide with the same shock as James was experiencing. Then, Lily did the unexpected. She ran as fast as those long, tanned legs of hers could carry her.
James quickly took three paces and smacked Sirius up the backside of his head. "Ouch!" Sirius cried out, rubbing his hand over the spot were James had hit him. "What was that for?"
"For telling Lily that I think she`s beautiful!"
Sirius frowned. "James, girls love that kind of thing....All my sisters do, at least."
"But Lily isn't your sister!"huffed James, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Well, she practically is. She was yours once too," retorted Sirius, placing a hand on his hip and pointing his index finger at James. "What happened this morning, James? You and Lily have been acting very strange since breakfast. Tell me the truth."
James sighed and bit his lip. "Care for a lunch by the lake while I tell you?"
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Professor Dumbledore lead Remus Lupin out onto the Hogwarts grounds wordlessly. Remus had remained silent since they left the infirmary ward, but only because he wasn't sure if he should attempt to make conversation or not. Dumbledore walked in front of him and, Remus noticed, he looked quite taller than he actually was because of his long and pointed hat propped up on his head. It truly made Remus realize how small he was compared to the grandeur of the Hogwarts castle. In fact, it made him feel really short, though he was nearly a head taller than most of the witches and wizards his age already.
It also made him feel extremely naive, even though he considered himself very well-diverse. He had no idea what Dumbledore was on about. He was supposed to stay in the infirmary during his transformation, wasn't he? And what exactly was that willow tree for? For him? Surely they wouldn't let that wild tree destroy him on the grounds because he was a werewolf, would they? Well, if that was the case, he had a good mind to go straight to the Ministry and complain...That is just pure discrimination against werewolves, he thought bitterly. Besides, it wasn't his fault the blasted thing had bitten him.
Finally, Remus` thoughts were broken when Dumbledore spoke. "Alright, Remus. See that tree?" he said, pointing to a large willow tree.
Remus looked in the direction that Dumbledore`s long finger pointed. "You mean the one that`s punching the air?" he asked, eyeing a ferocious-looking tree that was flailing its branches wildly around. Remus gulped hard.
"Precisely," said Dumbldore, twirling the end of his beard. "Right, then. I`ll show you what to do so you`ll be able to get past it."
Remus blinked. He was going to live. All of a sudden, he thought of how ridiculous he had been. There was no way on earth that he would be killed on school grounds because he was a werewolf. No way on earth. He smiled and followed Dumbledore to the edge of the Forbidden Forrest. Remus stopped. "Er, Professor? I thought we weren't supposed to go into the Forbidden Forrest....I mean, it is forbidden, isn't it?"
Dumbledore smiled. "I`m glad you take notice to rules, Remus...unlike some of your friends," he added, laughing a bit. "Well, it is true in saying that the Forrest is indeed forbidden, but we must make somewhat of an exception for you. You see, the Forrest is going to act as a secret passageway to you."
Remus blinked. "Pardon?"
Dumbledore laughed. "My, this must be quite confusing for you. Let`s just say I`ll take you through step-by-step-- sort of give you a tour and feel for what you will be doing tonight, eh?"
Remus halfway nodded and shook his head at the same time. "Right, then. Show me."
Dumbledore crooked his head to the side. "That`s a laddie," he said, bending over and grabbing a very long stick from the ground. "Hold this." Remus did, his knees bending slightly from the weight of it. "Now walk towards the tree," Dumbledore commanded.
Remus stared at him in disbelief. Perhaps Dumbledore did want to kill him after all. "What? Have you lost your head?"
"Oh, no, thank you. It`s still attached very firmly. Now, see that large knot on the tree there? Right there at the base?" Remus nodded, albeit shakily. "Well, you have to prod it with that stick."
Remus stood still, rigid with the fear of attempting to do what Dumbledore had just said. It all looked like a terribly large jousting event, and the tree had the longer javelin. Remus didn't like his odds in the slightest.
"Well go on, boy," said Dumbledore, giving him a good nudge in the back, causing Remus to teeter slightly, as he was still under the weight of the branch. Remus sighed deeply before charging forth, hearing the whops of encouragement from Professor Dumbledore behind him. He saw the branched swing down before him thrashing madly, but he charged on, keeping his aim straight for the knot. With one last thrust Remus speared the Whomping Willow`s knot and all went still. A large hole formed at the base of the tree in the ground and Remus stepped forward.
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Lily ran all the way up to the Gryffindor girls` dormitories before she stopped to take a breath. Gasping for air, she turned the knob of the first year dormitory that she shared with her room mates. She flopped down on her bed in spread-eagle fashion, staring up at the red velvet material that hung around her four-poster. She couldn't believe it. James liked her...He thought she was beautiful. It was true, she could tell, for the way James had acted wasn't your typical collected James Potter. He was a very furious and disbelieving James Potter- not at all his usual self.
And she liked it. She really, truly liked it-- not that she would admit it to herself. She just liked the newfound control over him. She had never been able to control anybody but Remus, and even then she didn't want to control him. Lily simply adored Remus, and to control him was to take away what endeared him so much to her. But to bend James Potter at her will-- well, that would be plenty payback on her behalf.
She missed Remus terribly. He was the only one she could really relate to out of their little circle of friends. Sirius Black was, well, Sirius Black. There was no way to explain him, really, except by saying that he was a free soul. He did as he pleased and often paid for it, but the point was that he did as he pleased. James was famous, of course, by being the son of two of the greatest witches and wizards of the century. James was conceited at times as well as daft when it came to that of the obvious, but he could very easily figure out something most would consider impossible. He was a walking contradiction. Remus, however, was much like her, and she adored him for it. He was the one she could relate to. He stayed up late in the Gryffindor common room to keep her company, he read books and actually enjoyed them, and he liked her for who she was, not what she should be. Having to be with Sirius Black and James Potter all day and some of the night with no one to truly talk to was horribly depressing. She missed Remus. She hadn't seen him in what seemed to be forever.
She sighed and looked out of her four-poster`s curtains and onto her night stand. On it was a witch`s clock which was about five inches long and lined with a highly polished brass trim. It showed the time, what her next lesson was (Herbology), and the current lunar phase. She looked at it and saw that tonight was the night of the full moon. It was strange, really, how it struck her as though something was awry. She felt it, instantly, as though something was wrong. It stole her breath away. It felt as though Remus was sick for a reason, a reason she did not know of-- one that he would not tell her. She looked at the clock again. The full moon on the clock looked up at her with a sorrowful expression, and she suddenly knew what was wrong.
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Sirius Black and James Potter walked down the Entrance Hall at a steady, even pace. Their shoes clicked as they walked on the hard, marble surface of the floor, causing echos to repel around the long hall. They walked in absolute silence, not willing to talk until outside of the school`s massive doors. What had happened back in the infirmary ward still loomed over their heads. Why, exactly, James` thoughts on Lily`s beauty had flown out of Sirius` mouth was indeed still a mystery, and it was about to be solved over a walk around the lake. Not only would that be solved, but the great mystery of exactly what had happened between James and Lily prior to breakfast.
Black reached out a long arm and pulled one of the doors open, emitting he and James onto the grounds of the school. It was a fair day, remarkable enough for England, but the air surrounding them was freezing. Sirius, determined to find out what had happened, pulled his cloak tighter around him and marched on in the direction of the lake, even though his teeth were chattering like mad. James followed dully behind, somewhat wading in Sirius` wake; that is, until Sirius turned around and caught James by his collar and dragged him up beside him.
"So," Sirius began, exhaling the cold air into a cloud of smoke before him, "what happened between you and Lily this morning?"
James pushed his glasses further up on his nose and looked at Sirius sidelong. "What do you mean what happened?"
Sirius shoved his hand deeply into his pockets and frowned. "You know what I mean, James. Why are you and Lily being so....so civil to each other?"
James paused from his walking and looked out at the lake, seeing the giant squid flailing about across the water. "Sometimes you just do things, Sirius. You just do, no matter what happens."
Sirius Black starred disbelievingly at James Potter. He had gone completely slack-jawed and his blue eyes were open to their fullest extent. That was the answer he had been waiting for? There was no way on this earth that Sirius could truly make sense of that, and sense was exactly what he wanted at the moment. An indigent sound came from the depths of Sirius` throat. Then, furious, Sirius snapped. "What do you bloody mean you just do things?! What would these things be, Potter? Are you and Evans completely and totally enemies, but you`re occasionally snogging partners?! That`s the only way I can see that even remotely makes -- "
"That is NOT what happened with Evans and I!" James shouted back, causing a couple of nearby owls to flutter out of their resting places on the willow tree by the lake.
Sirius was not convinced. "Oh, really? Well, you certainly could have fooled me, Potter. What, then, actually did happen this morning, hmm? Answer me that one," he spat.
James` face scrunched up in utter fury. "Well, for your information, Black, Lily was crying this morning and all last night! I only tried to help her, and in turn, she was actually nice to me for the first time in two years! If you had just been there once you would have realized what she`s going through right now! And here I was, thinking the two of you were bloody Bonnie and Clyde!" he bellowed, paying no attention the other students that had crowed around the windows of the library that looked out onto the grounds. Indeed, they had been watching for quite some time, and had actually started to choose sides during the argument.
Sirius, both furious and exasperated, threw his hands up into the cold autumn air. "FINE, THEN!" he screamed, turning on his heel and marching back up to the castle, leaving James in a similar state by the lake. James ran a hand through his untidy mop of black hair and stormed off in the opposite direction. The students in the window could only gape.
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Remus Lupin looked down into the hole at the base of the Whomping Willow, and then he turned around and looked at Dumbledore, who was smiling gleefully. Remus sighed and put his hand on his hip, turning back to look down into the hole. It looked very deep. He scratched his mop of dark brown hair and stared down into it, wondering what it was for. He heard Dumbledore coming up behind him.
"Well done, Remus," he said, smiling kindly down at Remus from his height. "Now step in there," he ordered.
Remus stared. Not again, he thought wearily. Was Dumbledore trying to bury him alive? Well, he thought hastily, that will never work. As it so happens, I am an excellent digger. Remus stood still and squared his shoulders, looking dubiously down at the hole.
"Oh, come now, Remus. It won`t bite. Step in there. I`ll follow you," said Dumbledore, somewhat chuckling. He removed his tall hat and put it in the inside pocket of his midnight blue robes that had bright silver stars dancing around on it. Every now and then they would clump together and form various constellations.
Remus took a shaky breath. Well, what did he have to loose? He took a step forward and fell somewhere around seven feet into the Earth. Before he jumped, he wondered if he would ever reach the bottom, but the thought was quickly banished when his feet hit the solid earth and he came crashing down to his knees in a matter of mere seconds. He quickly jumped back up and dusted himself off, coughing all the while from the incredible amount of dirt that had found its way into his mouth. He saw that there was a tunnel directly in front of him and he wondered if he should follow it, but he decided against it because Dumbledore wasn't with him yet.
Shortly after Remus had discovered the tunnel, Albus Dumbledore fell down the hole and followed the same procedure as Remus. After he was done coughing, he told Remus to move forward, pointing one long, dirt covered finger in the direction of the tunnel, and Remus easily obliged.
They walked on for what seemed like hours. Sometimes they would have to crawl on their hands and knees through the tunnel, and other times they could walk freely; but however the height from the ceiling to the floor changed, the material of it was consistent: dirt. The dirt walls of the tunnel were roughly scratched and carved, and the floor was muddy at one point and had puddles everywhere. When the ceiling of the tunnel began to leak drops of salt water, Remus had the strong feeling that they were somewhere under the lake. Remus shuddered then, hoping the lake wouldn't come crashing down over him, or even worse, the giant squid.
Still, they charged on, going uphill and downhill until at long last they reached their destination. Remus was climbing dirt steps with Professor Dumbledore panting softly behind him. Just before Remus`s legs felt as though they were going to completely give way, Remus spotted a wooden door some twenty feet in front of him. It was as though Remus had seen the most beautiful creature in all of England. He desperately rushed towards it as fast as his tired legs could carry him, almost tripping himself with excitement, until his dirty fingers enclosed around the small brass door knob and he pushed it open.
He was almost disappointed. It was a small room, dark, with many odd objects hanging on the walls. He had come all his way for this. He sighed roughly and slumped one shoulder back onto one of the walls of the square-shaped room. Dumbledore came in shortly after, wheezing and clutching his chest tightly, and then doubling over and putting his hands on his knees. He looked up at Remus through his half-moon spectacles and said, "I`m getting much too old for this." When he gained his composure back, he gestured around the dark room with one long arm and said, "Welcome, Remus, to the cellar of the place where you will be staying."
Remus instantly let out a sigh of relief. Dumbledore chuckled a bit and said, "Follow me." Dumbledore made his way over to the opposite side of the room with Remus trailing behind, reached to move a coil of garden hose, and revealed yet another door. He opened it to find a short staircase going upwards and into a room with dim lights that bounced eerily through the doorframe and down the staircase to where Albus Dumbledore and Remus Lupin were standing, instantly illuminating their faces. Dumbledore and Remus began to climb the staircase, and it didn't take them long to reach the top of it. "Welcome," said Dumbledore to Remus, "to the Shrieking Shack."
Remus looked around the dimly lit room. A purple fire was glowing in the hearth, casting an eiree glow around the room. The room was full of furniture, and Remus supposed this was a good thing, for he would probably get caught up in chewing the furniture rather than humans. Oddly-shaped lamps sat on tall, slender-legged tables, and the chairs were in a variety of shapes and sizes. One chair, he noticed, looked like a throne, standing tall and proud in the furthest corner of the room, the purple fire casting an odd glow against the gold and emerald encrusted stature of the chair. Also, right next to the throne chair was a small, shabby wooden stool that looked no bigger than a small dog. How peculiar, Remus thought.
Lupin let his eyes travel slowly over the room, taking his time to look at every detail. His eyes suddenly landed on a painting on the opposite wall. It looked vaguely familiar, though he couldn't quite place why when he couldn't see the painting properly in the dim light. Curious, he moved closer to it, occasionally stumbling over the many objects that filled the room. Under his breath he muttered lumos and shown the ray of light on the painting. He gasped at what he saw.
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Lily Evans sprinted down the long corridor that lead to the library. She had to find out if it was true. If everything matched up, then Remus was what she thought he was. The library doors were only a matter of feet away, and Lily`s legs were beginning to ache from the flat-out running, as she had ran all the way from the very top of the Gryffindor, all the way down seven flights, and through a maze of corridors- not to mention she forgot the trick step Peter Pettigrew always fell into and she got stuck until David Barbecus helped her out of it as the nearby paintings shot startled and curious looks her way. Even now the painting were looking at her with curiosity, as it wasn't everyday you saw a student in the same state as Lily. She was out of breath, but continuing to run, her hair was sticking out at very odd angles, and her she was talking to herself.
"Come on, Lily, almost there now....Just a few more feet...Easy does it..." she coached herself. Every painting had their eyes following Evans as she drew near to the library. Lily was closing in on her target. Finally, she reached out one hand, grasping around for the door knob, before she was hit square in the forehead by something very, very hard.
It turned out to be the library door itself. Apparently, someone was just opening the door to leave from inside the library just before Lily had gotten to it, causing Lily to get hit in the head and fall flat on her back onto the hard, marble floor. That someone that had been opening the door was bending over Lily. Lily Evans blinked and opened her bright green eyes and looked up to see Professor Minerva McGonagall looking down at her in a concerned fashion. Lily blinked again, hard, to get rid of the little stars dancing around her professor`s head.
Lily slowly sat up and looked at Professor McGonagall carefully before she burst into words. "Professor! I need to get to the library! I need to! I have to know if it`s true! If-"
McGonagall looked worried and placed a hand over Lily`s forehead, obviously checking for a temperature. "Miss Evans, are you alright? You feel a little hot-"
"I am fine, Professor! I`ve been running... But, you see, I just have to get to the library....Remus Lupin is in trouble!" she explained in a rush, standing up quickly.
McGonagall straightened up and put her hands on her hips. "Nonsense. That`s impossible. Remus Lupin is under more protection that the rest of the school. There is no way that he could be even in the slightest trouble," she said, looking down at Lily.
"Yes, that may be so, Professor, but I still need to get to the library," said Evans, looking up at the professor with pleading eyes.
"Very well, then. Continue on, Miss Evans. And two points from Gryffindor for running in the halls," she said before she turned and went down another corridor.
Lily noticed the paintings all turning back to stare at her. "Well, what are you staring at?" she half-said, half-shouted, before turning back around and marching into the library. The paintings just simply looked abashed in their frames.
She normally would`ve cared about having been the cause for point deductions in her house, but her mind was far to busy thinking of Remus and what she had just discovered. He`s a werewolf, she though frantically as she began to scour the library shelves for the thick, leather-bound book entitled So You Think You`re a Werewolf by Grinolda Gosshalk. Why didn't he tell me? I mean, I can understand why he wouldn't tell James, who has the biggest mouth I`ve ever seen, or even Sirius, who lets things fly out of his mouth when he isn't supposed to, but why not me? she thought hotly as she searched in the W section.
Finally, she pulled the book she had been searching for from the shelf and nearly ran over to a table close by. She opened the book to its table of contents and searched for the chapter on symptoms. After a few seconds she found it and eagerly flipped to the page and began reading as fast as her eyes could scan over the pages.
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James Potter had walked himself all the way to the Quidditch pitch in his fury. He really hated fighting with Sirius. This was probably because he always a) did not listen, b) threw in sharp comments, and c) made him feel as though everything was his fault, even though he knew it wasn't, or d) all of the above. James continued to walk across the damp, grassy pitch and marveled at the at the stands that seemed to soar high above him. Indeed, they were a good fifty feet above him in order to allow the students to see the actual game, but they seemed taller than ever.
Quidditch, it seemed, was his only love. True, there was Lily, but he supposed that was merely puppy love unrequited, as she obviously did not like him in return. But Quidditch.... Well, that was something. He had followed the remarkable flying game since he was very young, ever since he discovered that his uncle had flown for England when he was in his prime. Since that time, he had become very fascinated with the game, and hoped to someday play on Gryffindor`s team, or even professionally. He wished they would change the rules about not being able to play on the team until their second year, but he knew he would make it when the time came. His father had hired Miles Winton, a professional player from England, to teach James how to fly since he was eight years old. There was no doubt in his mind that he would make the team.
However, Quidditch wasn't on his mind at the moment; Lily Evans was. He liked her, that much he knew. When he had sat on her this morning, he felt this immense sensation, or perhaps that was just her elbow that was jammed in his rib. Either way, it was a sensation; the same sensation he got whenever he was around her: a weird, tingly feeling in his chest. And when she had cried into him this morning, that tingly feeling shot through his body. Yes, he had it bad for Lily Evans.
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Sirius Black had stormed himself back to the entrance of Hogwarts, which was probably the last place he ever wanted to be at the moment, cursing under his breath all the way. A few passing students had stared at him, but he was sure to properly yell at them before continuing his storming off. After that, even the frogs knew better than to get within a ten foot radius of him. He stomped up the stone steps and yanked the door open as hard as he could, scaring a second year girl out of her wits in the process. Paying no attention to the wide-eyed brunette, he continued to storm past. He liked that, storming about.
Just what was it with James Potter? He was as bloody unsteady as you could possibly get. One minute he`s preaching about the finer points of hating Lily Evans, and the next he`s making all the goggle-eyed faces at her.
Sirius flexed his hands into tight fists, and he was quite sure that if he ran into someone, they would be blacked out by his punch.
And Lily. She wasn't talking to him. Why wasn't she talking to him? They used to be good friends, as good as you could get, but lately she seemed upset with him. Perhaps it was because he was around James Potter a lot, or perhaps it was he wasn't spending every minute with her, or perhaps it was because he wasn't exactly earning house points for Gryffindor. After all, he had gotten in trouble many, many times, and all with James at that, but was that any reason to not talk to him? He was, despite what some might think, human. He did have feelings, dammit.
Sirius increased his pace, which was quite remarkable for he was practically walking as fast as you could go before you broke out into a run, as he rounded a corner and ran smack into to someone. Now throughly furious, Sirius jumped up and almost tripped because his robes had somehow managed to wrangle themselves into the world`s largest knot. He made a very frustrated noise and waved his arms around before he looked down at the person he had ran into.
It was Lily.
"Oh, that`s just great!" she shouted, pounding her hands down onto the floor and looking up at Sirius. "Look what you`ve done!" she said, gesturing around to several books, quills, parchment scrolls, and notes that had been strewn across the floor during their collision.
Sirius instantly felt guilty and his nerves slipped away. He got down on his knees and began helping Lily pick up all of her things and put them into a bag; that is, until he picked up a book titled So You Think You`re a Werewolf. "Lily?" he asked, looking at her suspiciously, "What is this for?"
Lily bit her lip nervously. Well, she thought, he is one of Remus`s friends too... "It`s for research."
"And why would you be researching..." Sirius paused and looked at this book. "werewolves? Lil, you aren't a werewolf, are you?" he asked, looking at her with his concerned blue eyes.
"No," she answered honestly.
"Then why do you have it?" he asked. Lily reached for it, but he drew his arm back further behind him so Lily couldn't get it. They struggled on like this for a few more moments before Sirius stood up and held the book high over his head, which was well out of reaching distance for Lily Evans. "Just tell me, Lily, and you`ll get your darling book back."
"Because Remus is a werewolf, and if you just--"
"Remus is a WHAT?!"
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Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, me own none, so you no sue! (Just had to say that... But as far as the plot goes, get your hands off.:)
NOTE: Ah...Another chapter, and this time it's nearly two years late. Talk about a cliffhanger, eh? Sorry for those who have been waiting*grins sheepishly*. I fell victim to one hell of a writer's block... Anyway, on with the show...Thanks to everyone who reviewed/will review. Honestly, you guys are like my energy source... You make sure to proverbially kick my butt when I don`t put anything out for a while, and I truly thank you for that, no matter how many band-aids I need when you`re done doing so. Major kudos go to those who have me on their favorites list and/or Author Alert. You guys are the best! Also, in the next chapter I`m going to put out a major thank-you section to every single person who has reviewed so far, all the *special* reviewers (those who have left something for every chapter), inspirations, and make complete and total idiots out of anybody who has left a flame....Gee, how quaint. It`ll be the All-Humiliation Network. ^__^
SPECIAL NOTE TO READERS: Yes, I do know that Dumbledore was headmaster before everyone came along, but do bear with me, as I had forgotten when I first introduced him and, obviously, I'm too far along to take it all back. So sorry for the inconvenience.
By the way, I would really like your comments on this chapter. Was it too long??? I`m not really sure whether this story is going down the right path, the wrong path, or if it is even going down a path at all, and any suggestions or comments on this would be really helpful.:) Ooh, what do you think`s going to happen next? I know! I think...Wait, maybe....not....uh...No, actually, I do know, but I'm open for suggestions/comments. Kudos!
SO DON`T BE A CHICKEN! FILL OUT A REVIEW!!!!