There was no doubt. He had taken the wrong direction. But how on earth was he supposed to find his way back? There was nothing but fields around Hogsmeade, and that the village itself had disappeared from view altogether did not help in the slightest.
Severus had the distinct impression that he had, yet again, made a very serious mistake. Not that it was the first time since he had arrived at Hogwarts, but he had certainly never been forced to spend a night outside before. He shivered uncomfortably at the thought and once again recollected all the mistakes he had made so far. Inwardly, as you never knew whom you met at this time of the night.
The tunnel had been the biggest mistake of all. Why in the name of Merlin had he hidden inside? It was not forbidden to stroll about the Hogwarts corridors. Not as such. Well - it was, but... what could Potter and Lupin have done?
Using the Hogsmeade entrance to escape the darkness and silence of said tunnel might not have been such a good idea either. You never knew - someone might have heard his shouting if he had only tried a bit longer. And the Inn had been a mistake. Definitely. Perhaps his worst so far. That curious old witch with her ability of reading people's minds...
Severus had not believed she was a seer. Not for a second. She was reading people's thoughts and drawing conclusions. That was all. Teachers did it all the time. Or - so it seemed. Severus had never found it very surprising when people had been able to guess what he was thinking. It could not be too hard.
He stumbled. Cursed. Why were there no streetlights around? This was a human settlement, after all. A small one. He frowned. Looked for people, but the streets were deserted. All he could see was a tourist information office, a church, and a request stop. He knew those. There were thousands of them in London. But no bus ever stopped for him. He had tried.
Severus sat down at one of the steps in front of the church and looked up and down the street. There was no way he was still heading into the right direction. There was no Muggle settlement between Hogsmeade and Hogwarts. But there had been no Hogwarts. He had looked all around. All you could see from the middle of Hogsmeade were some parts of the Highlands (fields, and fields, and fields, and fields that is) and a destroyed building which, he supposed, had once been a Muggle cathedral or a castle of some sort.
A castle?
Severus' stomach turned. But that was impossible. It had been burnt to the ground. Then again... the wizarding world taught you that nothing was as it seemed. He had learned as much - ever since Lance had returned. Ever since he had met his first fully-grown wizard. It had been remarkable. Severus remembered being impressed about what his father could do and how he used his magic in their everyday life. Mother had been different. Always very different...
'Do you miss your parents?' said the voice in his head he had first heard down in the secret tunnel leading away from Hogwarts. 'Would you like to go home?'
'No,' whispered Severus. 'Please... I'd like to stay.'
'Very well, then - do something. Go back to the castle.'
'But I haven't got a clue where it is!' said Severus urgently, trying to ignore the fact that he was talking to a bodiless voice. 'Can you tell me?'
In front of him appeared a boy. No older than himself. Fair-haired. With freckles. He looked remotely like Severus' mother, only that he was paler. And had a very serious air about him. 'No,' the boy stated. 'I haven't got a clue either.'
'Who are you?' muttered Severus sleepily. 'You seem familiar.'
'I am Skein,' replied the boy, grinning from ear to ear. 'You know me.'
'Yes,' said Severus, still feeling as if he was about to fall asleep. 'I do...'
'Not so fast, Remus,' shouted James. 'Come back! Sirius has lost that bloody map again!'
'You take it from now on,' decided the black-haired boy grumpily when he found the piece of parchment again, thrusting it into Remus's hands. 'I've had enough insults to last for a lifetime.'
'I can't read maps,' said Remus nervously. 'And anyway, I think we ought to go back. It's almost eight.'
'You don't get it, do you?' snarled Sirius. 'We can't come back without Snape. They'll have started looking for us by now. If we go back - we're in trouble. It's as easy as that.'
'But I need to get back,' whispered Remus, and James saw that there were traces of sweat on his forehead. 'I... have to.'
'Coward,' muttered Sirius, ignoring the blatant signs of infirmity on Remus's face. 'I'm not going back before we have found that little shit. You just wait - I'll beat the longing for adventures out of him. Why didn't he stay in the castle where he belongs?'
'You said you were happy he was gone,' grinned James. 'You are. And so am I.'
'Yes,' growled Sirius, 'but that was before we got involved so much. We should have stayed at Hogwarts. Leave him to the werewolves, that's what we ought to have done.'
James saw Remus stiffen and wondered whether he was, perhaps, seriously ill. It was, after all, a cold night. The sky was covered with clouds and every now and then a small raindrop made its way down to earth, leaving the four boys shaking with cold and discomfort. James had to admit that he secretly agreed with Remus. It would be wise to go back.
When he was just about to point this out to Sirius, the taller boy stopped dead.
'What is that?' he said quietly, pointing at the general direction of the Muggle village, which lay only half a mile ahead of them now.
'The edge of the village,' remarked James.
'A phone box,' helped Remus.
'A house,' explained Peter.
Sirius' look darkened. 'Thank you very much, gentlemen,' he said in a startling imitation of Professor McGonagall. 'You seem to have be paying attention after all.' His voice assumed its normal sound and he looked serious for a change. 'I was, of course, talking about that... that house thingy behind the... uhm... what was it again?'
'A phone box,' said Remus again. 'It's like floo powder. You use it to get in contact with people.'
Sirius nodded slowly. 'I see.'
'Look,' grinned James. 'Seeing the advert on it? They want us to light a bunch of weed and inhale whatever comes out of it.'
'Isn't nicotine one of the most effective ingredients for the Draught Of The Living Dead?' wondered Remus. 'What kind of stupid person would poison themselves bit by bit over a time span of... perhaps forty or fifty years?'
'Filthy Muggle scum,' prompted Sirius, earning himself three very severe looks. He looked around and shrank back. 'I'm sorry. ... It's what I've been taught.'
It was the first time Remus had ever seen Sirius looking subdued. It was certainly an unusual sight. Something was happening to the young pureblood, though Remus could not quite estimate what it would turn out to be. James, too, seemed to have decided that this was a good moment to appear forthcoming, as he smiled broadly.
'Don't worry,' he said, sounding completely earnest for a change. 'It isn't your fault you've been brought up like that.'
They did not talk for a very long time while walking down the streets of the Muggle village. Then, suddenly, Peter let out a yelp.
'There he is!'
Three looks were following his outstretched finger and all four boys stared at a point nearby - on the bottom of a massive church, near the centre of the village, a small, black figure was lying half-across the marble steps, obviously fast asleep. Snape's left arm was hanging down a few steps, his feet were crouched against his body, and his right thumb was in his mouth.
'Pathetic,' muttered Sirius.
'Disgusting,' remarked James.
'Thank goodness,' sighed Remus. 'We've found him.'
At that moment the air filled with voices and the sound of approaching broomsticks. Remus looked up, saw the outlines of three teachers appearing through the thick, nightly fog that had risen without their noticing, and felt himself being snatched and lifted onto one of the brooms. Before he realized what had happened he was hovering several feet above the ground, zooming over large fields and deserted streets. His stomach cramped again.
'Professor, I...'
'Don't talk,' snarled Professor McGonagall, steering the broom as if her life depended on it - which it did. 'It's bad enough that you have broken one school rule after another by sneaking out of the castle and into Muggle territory, Mr. Lupin, but did you have to do it on a full-moon? What were you thinking?'
'I forgot,' he managed to say, suppressing a shudder at the thought what might have happened. - And what was about to happen. 'Professor, I... wouldn't it be better if you dropped me somewhere here?'
'And be informed which grounds you have been roaming by the Daily Prophet tomorrow? Certainly not,' hissed the Deputy Headmistress, now rocketing alongside another field and towards the farmhouse they had seen on their way. Remus could not help noticing that she was an excellent flyer. 'Brace yourself, now! We're crossing the barrier.'
A slight, tickling sensation befell him and he gasped. Soon enough though, he realized that being run through with magic at his current state was nothing whatsoever to be pleased about. The process of transformation was about to take place, needing only a magical element to push it out of its start holes. The full moon, usually. Or the infamous witching hour at midnight. Or a push of magic. He howled. McGonagall steered the broom towards the earth in the middle of the deserted village of Hogsmeade.
'Quickly,' she panted, opening the gate to the Shrieking Shack. 'Get inside!'
Remus did not hesitate. He sped through the open door of the Shack and into one of the rooms at random. 'Leave!' he managed to shout, but the Deputy Headmistress seemed strangely relaxed once she had firmly locked the entrance door and turned to face him.
'Let this be a lesson to you,' she said sternly. 'You are lucky we found you in time. Don't you ever forget the full moon again. Buy yourself a calendar. Are you hurt, by the way? Any serious injuries I should see to?'
Remus shook his head, marvelling at her guts. He was only a small werewolf, as yet, but still his bite could kill. 'You need to get yourself out,' he whispered.
'There'll be enough time,' said Professor McGonagall coolly. 'I shall disappear through the tunnel once I have had my say. Have your friends any idea of what is happening to you?'
Remus shook his head once more, feeling his stomach growl in a most scary manner. Indeed, was it really his stomach that made this sound? He threw a frightened look at Professor McGonagall, but she had disappeared on spot. Instead, there was a tabby cat sitting on her place, giving him severe glances through a pair of very human eyes. 'Now, really,' she seemed to say, before disappearing through the door that led to the tunnel into the Hogwarts grounds. Something inside his stomach commanded Remus to follow her into that direction, but the door fell shut before he had even moved, and the key turned. He had not known cats could turn keys. He had not known cats could give you such reprimanding looks. He looked down and slowly, inevitably, slid into a painfully familiar unconsciousness, which he knew he would not be able to fight.
Author's note: Jenn, would you mind leaving your e-mail address or sending me a quick note on how to contact you in private? It'd be much appreciated.