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Special Thanks : See the end of the chapter.
Wolf's Bane
Chapter 7
The Bite
Sable wound up spending the next few hours in the room that Professor Dumbledore had allowed her to use to perfect her experimental potions. She'd told him about the potion she had been working on, and hoping he would be able to see her point of view about it. Surprisingly, he had given her a small silver key and told her that there was an old abandoned classroom at the end of the Defense Against the Dark Arts hallway that she could use. He had given her the password, and sent her off, a twinkle in his eyes at the amount of suprise on her face.
Now, she looked over the dusty classroom and sighed. it needed some cleaning, and desperately. She pulled her wand and began to dust and clean the shelves and few sparse desks. After about a half hour of cleaning, she brough all of her potions ingredients down from her dorm, thankfully avoiding most of the other students in the process. Luckily for her, it was a weekend, and she highly doubted there would be many students down the Defense hallway questioning the reason for floating boxes disappearing behind an old tapestry.
She opened up her trunk and began to place th eingredients, in order, on the numberous shelves that lined the walls. Her cauldrons were set up around the room, and her books were placed on a shelf near one of the desks. She then turned her attention to the storage closet and the small room that branched off of the main classroom. The storage closet was empty when she checked it, so she placed her extra potions ingredients in there for safe keeping. She closed the large door and put serveral locking charms on the door.
Even if Sirius and the others managed to find the room, she still did not want to leave some rather explosive ingredients just lying around for the mischevious Black to find. If she did, Hogwarts was likely to lose it's bottom floor courtesy of an unplanned explosion!
After conjuring up a few more shelves, she went to the other small room across the way. It was a little larger that she had expected, and even had a small fireplace in the corner. She smiled and got to work, knowing exactly what she was going to do to the room.
'I'll just make this my dorm.' she thought. 'Then Lily can have her Head's Dorm back, and I won't be in her way.' She smiled happily as she pulled out her school robes and hung them in the armoire not far from the queen sized bed. It was apparent that Dumbledore had had the bed sent down to the room recently because it was the only thing that wasn't covered in a half inch of dust. A little while later, she was done, and things were set up to her liking. 'I'll get the rest of my stuff from the dorms and bring them down here in a little while.' she thought. 'But first, I need to go see Professor Tuft about a few necessary plants.' She surveyed her handiwork one more time before tucking the small silver key Dumbledore had given her into her pocket and exiting out of the hidden doorway, and into the Defense Against the Dark Arts hallway.
Remus had caught up with James and Sirius on the Quidditch Pitch, and told them that they needed to find a way to keep an eye on Sable that evening when the four of them left for the Whomping Willow.
"What's wrong with her? Is she sick or something?" Sirius asked. They had just finished practice, and the two black headed boys were covered in sweat. Remus looked at them carefully, not wanting to betray Sable's confidence by telling them about the potion, but knowing he needed to get his point over to them.
"I just don't want her around when I change. I think she wants to come to see if the potions she's been sinding me is working. But we all know it is not as useful as it was before, but I don't want her to know that." he answered, skirting around the truth. James and Sirius just nodded and the three began to formulate a way to keep their friend from stumbling into the Shrieking Shack.
Sable made it to the greenhouses on the side of the castle without incident, successfully avoiding any members of the Marauders, or Lily. She immediately went looking for the Herbology teacher, Professor Tuft. 'If I know Remus, then he's already told the boys to keep me quarantined in the Tower tonight.' she thought glumly. She foun the stout little teacher a few inutes later, standing behind a large Devil's Snare in the second greenhouse. Unfortunately, she was not alone.
A tall boy with shoulder length black hair also stood there with her. Professor Tuft seemed to be helping the young man gather leaves from a rather large, and extremely agitated Trolywhil plant. Not wanting to interrupt, Sablem calmly waited until the two were finished discussing whatever it was they were discussing before she stepped into their line of sight and said anything.
At the sound of her voice, the two turned and faced her. Professor Tuft had not changed all that much since their last meeting, and still had the graying brown hair and welcoming smile she showed all her students. The boy however, only seemed to regard her with an air of annoyance. His pale complexion was shockingly familiar, as was the faint sneer on his lips. When his black eyes flickered in recognition, Sable knew who he was instantly, without even having to look at the Slytherin emblem on his school robes.
"Professor Tuft, it is good to see you again." Sable said, nodding to the short lady. "As is you, Severus."
"It is good to have you back, Ms. Robbins." the lady said with a smile.
"Yes, I was wondering when my rival would return." Snape said cooly, the sneer becoming more pronounced. Sable just grinned and folded her arms over her chest, regarding the taller boy in front of her. She and Snape had never really been friends, more along the line of acquaintances. Their mutual love of Potions had allowed them to have a fairly number of non-violent conversations before she had left, despite the constant inter-house rivalries between Gryffindor and Slytherin.
"It is a pleasure to see you as well, Severus." she said, nodding.
"What brings you here, dear?" Professor Tuft asked, taking her gloves off.
"Well, I need some leaves from the Devil's Snare for a potion I am working on. I was just wondering if you happened to have any in storage that have been cured already." she answered.
"What are you working on?" Snape queried.
"A potion to make a person's disposition a bit cheerier." she said, smiling. "I was going to force some of it down your throat as an experiment to see if it works like it's supposed to." Snape just glared at her in an attempt to put her on edge.
It failed miserably.
Professor Tuft just laughed at the two teen's bickering and left to go get the leaves Sable had requested. When she was out of earshot, Sable began laughing, only to have Snape look at her like she had gone batty.
"Well, Severus." she began. "what kind of concoction are you brewint up now? Something to put on Gryffindor's food and make us all horribly sick, right? Or maybe a potioin to hurl at Sirius or James? To hear those two talk, they've been giving you hell lately."
"Well, Ms. Robbins," he began coldly. "may I remind you that I am not one of your little prankster friends who have a tendancy to put others through misery for the sick pleasure of seeing them squirm. Besides, any potion that I may or may not put on the Gryffindor food would do more than make certain individuals sick, I assure you. And as for Black's and Potter's incessent ramblings about my apparently non-existent social life, I would kindly ask you not to believe everything that those two gits say."
Sable blinked at the boy, disbelief clouding over her brain. This was not the same boy she had known two years before. He was so...cold. Back in fourth year, the two had actually formed a sliver of what could have been called mutual respect for each other. Now, it seemed like their one time understanding had disintegrated into nothing more than a chance to hurl insults at the other.
"Geez, Severus, what did they do this time to get you in such a foul mood?" she asked. Snape just growled, and turned away, more than likely wishing she would just go away.
"Nothing that concerns you, Ms. Robbins. I assure you." he replied, still refusing to look at her.
Sable's hands went to her hips angrily. Snape had never treated her like this before, and she couldn't figure out what was making him do it now. Sure, she had heard about the incident when Sirius had tricked him into going under the Whomping Willow one night during the fool moon, and how Snape had been sworn to secrecy about it. But she hadn't had anything to do with it, so she wasn't sure why he was treating her like the scum of the Earth.
"Alright Severus,I don't know what's crawled up your ass and died. But whatever it is, would you kindly remove it and get off your high horse? I don't know what the Marauders have done to you, considering you never returned any of the letters I sent you after I left, but I didn't have anything to do with it. So quit acting like such an ass already, would you?" she said. Snape refused to answer her, and only made her anger grow by leaps and bounds. "What's happened to you since I left?" she asked, completely exasperated with the silent treatment she was receiving from him.
"More things than you could ever comprehend." he said sadly, casting his eyes towards the entrance of the greenhouse as if searching for an escape route. Sable saw him absently rub his hand on his forearm, but did not have time to question his answer because Professor Tuft had arrived with the needed ingredients. The short lady handed the full jar to Sable and nodded.
"Do you need anything else, dear?" she asked.
"No, ma'am. That was all. Thank you so much." Sable said, smiling slightly to cover up the tension that had arose with Snape. She turned to the boy and shook her head once again, trying to figure out what was wrong with him. "It was a pleasure to see you both again. Good day." Snape said nothing, but the Professor waved happily as Sable made her way out of the greenhouse and back towards the castle. She had some things to find out from people as to what had been going on at the school lately, and why Snape suddenly hated her guts. And she had a fleeting feeling that she would find the answers in the form of one overly-paranoid werewolf and his best mates.
Later that evening, as Peter and Sirius followed at a distance from Remus and Madame Pomfrey, on their way to the Whomping Willow, Remus was silently praying that Sable would be smart enough to stay within the school while he underwent the change.
It was dusk, and the Marauders were once again doing their monthly trek to the dangerous tree, cramped under James' invisibility cloak. Unfortuantely, James was busy doing Head Boy duties, and had told Remus that he couldn't be with them tonight. Remus had understood, and made James swear to keep an eye on Sable for the rest of the evening.
Once inside the underground tunnel that led to the old abandoned house in Hogsmeade that had been dubbed the Shrieking Shack, Peter and Sirius threw off the cloak and breathed in a breath of fresh air. It was damp in the underground tunnel, and the little light that was admitted in was fading fast as the afternoon sun set out of sight. Remus said nothing, but led the way through the passage in silence. His mind was still on Sable, and he clutched the vial of pain relief potion in his pocket that she had sent him.
The three boys soon found their way barred by the trap door that led into the Shrieking Shack, and they threw it open and climbed up. It was still about a half an hour before nighttime fell, but Remus was starting to get a little antsy. Once they were settled in for the long night, Sirius turned to Remus.
"Do you have the potion, Moony?" Sirius asked. Remus just nodded and produced the container from underneath his robes. "Do you think it'll do you anymore good?"
"Not sure, Padfoot." Remus answered. The boys chatted for another few minutes, but soon stopped when Remus began to sweat and go deathly pale.
"It's time." Peter said quickly. The werewolf across the room nodded and quickly downed the small vile of pain relief potion in one gulp. He felt it go to work almost instantly, slowly beginning to numb every part of his body. He watched as Sirius and Peter transformed into their Animagi forms of a small rat and a big black dog, then doubled over as the beginning pains of the transformation hit him.
It was always the same. One quick jab of pain that raced through his stomach, almost like a precursor for what was to come. Then, a burning sensation throughout his body as his cells began to change. His stomach would start flipping and flopping, and every bone in his body would break and reshape itself to form the animal that overtook the human.An involuntary scream left his lips as he was sucked into the psychological hell that was a werewolf. He felt his canines enlarge and grow pointier, and his nails begin to curl into claws. All coherent thoughts fled as the wolf slowly took over.
The pain was intense, even with the numbing potion Sable had given him; andhe once again wondered if this was some sort of punishment for somthing he had done. He wasn't even sure what it was anymore, but he was being punished for something, at least in his mind. Why else would he beforced to go through the torture, the torment of this change every four weeks.
His last coherent though was of keeping Sable away until this was all over with. Then, he gave into the animalistic instincts that had come over him, and let out a mournful howl that caused the thin walls of thebuilding to revertebrate. Across the room, Sirius' canine form plopped down onto the ground, trying to hide his overly sensitive ears from the howls that Remus was letting loose.
The dog Animagi had quickly picked up on an unfamiliar scent when he had shifted into his dog form, and was trying to find where it was coming from, which he quickly pinpointed. 'Somethings' not right.' he thought, growling slightly. 'Someone else is here. And it ain't Prongs.' He looked around the room, and found the strongest concentration of the scent wafting up from the trapdoor. Sirius knew he couldn't lift the trapdoor while he was in his canine form. So, he did the next best thing and plopped down on it. His bulky form would keep whatever was giving off the scent from getting into the dilapidated old house, and consequently running into a very depressed werewolf who would not think twice before attacking them.
Back at Hogwarts castle, Lily and James were making their rounds around the school, searching for students out past curfew, when the mournful howl of Remus reached their ears. Lily shivered involuntarily as one howl died down, only to be replaced by another one.
"It almost seems like he's calling out to someone." she said quietly, sneeking a peek out of a window in the hallway that looked over the grounds. "I just wish there was something I could do. I feel so helpless." James nodded and put a comforting arm around his girlfriend.
"I though maybe having Sable back would make it better, but it doesn't sound like it." James admitted, nodding towards Hogsmeade.
"It's only been two days. Give them some time to get acclimated to each other again. We know she can help him. The only question is, will he let her?" the red-head said, beginning to walk again, only half-hearedly looking for other students. James caught up and wrapped an arm around her waist.
"Lily, do you think there is more going on between those two than they are letting on?" he asked suddenly. Lily just laughed and nodded.
"Of course there is. There was something going on with them back in fourth year, but neither of them would admit it!" she exclaimed. "When she left, Remus was so upset, that much I remember. Where is Sable now, by the way? I saw her in the Common Room after I told Remus I would keep an eye on her this evening." James just shrugged.
"She told me she was going to the library when I left to meet you. Said there was some books she wanted to look in about Celtic potions, or something like that. I don't remember exactly what she said. She left in such a hurrt, I didn't catch it all." Lily stopped walking and stared at her boyfriend, a grim expression on her face.
"Where did she say she was going?" she asked.
"To the library. Why?" James asked.
"James, the library isn't open yet." she said frantically. "The librarian won't be here until Monday, and Dumbledore gave me the key to get in. No one else can get in!"
"You don't think she's gone to find Remus and the others do you?" James asked, his eyes narrowed into two hazel colored slits.
"I think that's exactly where she's gone to." Lily said quickly. "She knows how to get there, you guys showed her in fourth year. Oh, God! James, you've got to get the the Shrieking Shack before she gets herself killed!"
Sirius could still smell the odd odor coming from underneath the trapdoor. He was bound and determined not to get up though, not wanting another incident to occur where someone walked in on a fully grown werewolf.
'Whoever is down there, I'm gonna kick their arses when I find out!' he thought. It appeared as theough Remus had begun to get nervous at the closed in space he had been cooped up in. The werewolf had started to scratch everything he could get he paws onto. But that did not last long, and the wolf soon began inflicting the wounds upon himself, leaving the gashes and wounds to bleed almost nonstop.
Sirius, his mind temporarily drawn away from the intruding scent, immeditaly jumped off the trapdoor and bounded over to his friend. The werewolf was getting blood all over the place, and Sirius was trying to stop the horried self mutilation, but to no avail. In his dog form, he could do ver little to stop Remus from hurting himself.
Peter, who had been hiding underneath some soured straw, scampered over to the trapdoor as soon as he picked up the unfamiliar scent that had put Sirius on edge. He stood over the entrance, trying to figure out who the smell belonged to. However, he wasn't there long, because as the trapdoor was slung open, he was flung off the top and into a nearby wall hard enough to knock him out. As the small rat's sight began to dim, he could see the dark hair of one Sabriel Robbins coming out of the tunnel.
James ran down the damp underground tunnel with the speed of a flash of lightning. The air was humid and his hair was sticking to the back of his neck as the sweat began to roll down his back, underneath his robes. As he neared the end of the tunnel, he quickly changed into his Animagi form, a stag. He galloped around a bend in the tunnel, determined to make it to the Shrieking Shack before Sable killed herself. He rounded the last corner and saw Sable push open the trapdoor that led to the dilapidated old house. He panicked, knowing that Sable would undoubtedly be bitten if she was let in there. 'Remus, if you have any form of control in you, I hope you learn to control it, like RIGHT NOW!' he thought quickly, trying to catch up with the girl.
Sable heard the snarling and growling of Remus and Sirius as soon as she opened the trapdoor. She pulled herself out of the tunnel and onto the wooded floor, horrified at the sight in front of her. The moonlight cast shadows all around the two struggling figures, hiding them from view every time they slipped into the darkness. It was Remus and Sirius, fighting. Sable glanced around, quickly noticing the scratch marks and blood on the floor. 'Merlin, what's going on?' she thought. Something came down with a huge crash right behind her, and she jumped in surprise. She could still hear the growling and barking of the two canines behind the boxes that littered the room. She ran to look at what had made the commotion, forgetting that a very angry werewolf lurked in the shadows.
Sirius' energy was almost completely spent. He had been fighting with Remus for too long. In his dog form, his stamina was not as long lasting as in his human form. Remus had taken a toll on him, and it was beginning to hinder him in his own self defense. His dog form was limping, but he still fought the wolf to keep him distracted from the girl. As he regrouped himself behind a box, he picked up the unmistakable scent of Prongs on the air, and breathed sigh of relief. ' If he gets her out of here, we can handle Remus.' he thought as Remus crouched for another attack on the big black dog.
The wolf part of Remus was now in complete control, and it knew something was different. It knew he was weakening. His instincts threw him into a state of panic when he felt every muscle relax and give over to rest. The snarl left his face, the amber eyes losing its fiery anger. Looking at the beaten form of the shaggy, black dog limping in the corner, it realized that something wasn't right. He pulled out of the meaningless fight, dazed as he fought off the instant weariness. The wolf came out of the shadows, intending on giving up the fierce battle when he caught the scent of something else...something new.
He walked out into the full moonlight, blood trailing and pooling behind him from the gashes on his side. There, in the center of the room, stood the intruder. From his muzzle came a low and threatening growl, as he picked up on the untainted female human scent. The human turned, focusing her own amber eyes upon the menacing wolf, never flinching.
James came up through the trapdoor, intent on pulling Sable back down into the tunnel and chewing her out for being so stupid. Instead, he gaped as he saw Remus and Sable in the middle of an apparent stare down. Sirius came limping out of the shadows, and Peter scampered over to the two other boys. The untimely fling from the door had knocked him out for a few moments. They waited for Remus to attack his friend, but nothing happened. The two teens, one more wolf than human, waited in anxious silence.
The wolf growled low and threatening once again, trying to scare its prey into running. It waited patiently, willing the human to move, to make one wrong mistake. He moved closer to the human, trying to get a rise out of her. Still nothing. Still, he fought as the human mind within him battled with the feral instincts of a wild animal. So he waited, fighting off the smooth grasp of sleep that had began to cradle his mind, like an innocent child.
Sable stood absolutely still, barely even breathing. She watched as her potion took affect on Remus. His eyelids were drooping and he was standing drunkenly. Finally, she chanced a glance to the rat, dog, and stag that stood to her left. They all waited, expecting an attack, and waiting to defend their friends from each other. She looked back to Remus' still form. The moonlight had turned his usual dark coat a lighter shade of brown, but his eyes still held that look of a hunter. She took a deep breath and began to inch her way closer to the werewolf, never breaking the spell binding eye contact. She finally found herself standing in front of the beast. She reached out a tentative hand, trying to see if he would bite at her, he didn't.
"Remus, it's me. Sable." she said quietly. "I know you can hear me somewhere in there, can't you?"
The wolf watched in apprehension as the human reached out to pet him. It saw her amber eyes glance up and down his mutilated body. Her touch was soothing. He felt no need to bite her, which was in itself unusual. His primal instincts were seemingly subdued by her eyes and her hands, the very own eyes he had in himself. He felt a connection with the little human somewhere beyond his control. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye. The stag was moving closer to the little human with amber eyes. He didn't want anyone near him, except the human. He growled deep in his throat and the stag backed up, albeit reluctantly. Sable noticed and quickly began talking to him again.
"Remus, don't growl at James. He's not going to hurt me, or you for that matter. Just calm down, let the potion take a hold of you. It will help you relax and make the change back less painful. Come on now Remus, you remember why I came down here. We've found out what we need to, now rest."
The boys were surprised to see Remus visibly calm down with her words. His eyes started to droop, and he swayed where he stood.
Sable knelt down in front of the wolf, stroking its matted fur carefully. The bite and scratch marks on him were bleeding, and she prayed to whatever God may be that the potion would soon take full affect, effectively knocking him out for a few hours. Remus, too tired to remain conscious, slumped down onto the floor. His head landed in Sable's lap, and he made no move to remove it. He didn't completely understand what she was saying, but he understood well enough. He felt completely safe as her small hands stroked his ears and fur. He heard soothing growls and moans that the wolf-eyed human emitted from deep within her own throat. He lay there, finally allowing himself to fall into a deep chasm of dreams, in the arms of a human who smelled of a she-wolf.
Sable continued to soothe the prone form of Remus. The potion had worked too late, knocking him out after transforming. She continued to stroke his fur until his head lolled to one side, signaling that he was deeply asleep. She rose up carefully from the floor, not wanting to wake him. She grabbed her wand out of her pants pocket, quickly using it to close the puncture wounds from his own teeth. That done, she pulled off her cloak and draped it over the now sleeping form of Remus Lupin. She sighed and shook her head, knowing that this boy was going through his own personal hell. Her thoughts strayed to her parents. 'I hope they are alright, wherever they're at.' she thought. She continued to stand by the form of Remus, oblivious to the other boys, thinking about how the world could possibly curse people as good as Remus and her parents into being creatures like this. 'It's so unfair, especially to them. They've never done anything to deserve this. It's just not fair.'
She suddenly felt numerous hands grip her shoulders and waist in a death grip. She was pulled off of her feet and back down into the tunnel. She turned to the others, annoyed beyond belief. Sirius, James, and Peter were all fuming.
"What the Hell do you think you were doing, Sable?" James fumed.
"You could have gotten yourself killed! Or worse, bitten!" Sirius yelled.
"Sable, you've lost your mind! You know what Remus is capable of doing when he turns! What were you thinking?" Peter asked vehemently. Sable began to collect her thoughts a little more as the boys berated her for trying to help Remus. Finally, the tirade stopped and Sable could have her say in the matter.
"Well, thank you for your well placed concern, fellas. I really appreciate it." she said, "But I really didn't need it. Besides, I needed to find out some stuff for a potion that I am working on."
"What in Merlin's name is so important that you are willing to sacrifice your life, and Remus' mental stability, for it?" Sirius queried. "Especially if it is one of your ridiculous potions. I swear to Agrippa, you are as bad as that slimy Slytherin, Severus Snape! Always concocting some type of potion to experiment on someone."
Sirius immediately regretted that remark. Sable's eyes narrowed into amber slits. She was angry. Very angry. They knew that she never tested her potions on humans. Now Sirius, one of her supposed friends, was accusing her of just handing out experimental potions to anybody that happened to come by! In the dim light of the tunnel, James could see a red flush overtake her cheeks. She looked from one boy to the next, eyeing each one in turn. Her hands were clinched at her sides, her nails digging into her palms. It took every fiber in her body not to hex Sirius into his afterlife for that remark.
"So, Sirius, " she said softly, almost hissing, "you're going to compare me to the Slytherins now, are you? Not that I'm complaining. I met Severus out in the greenhouses earlier today. It was quite interesting. Don't rag on them so badly, Sirius; some of them have very bright intellects, much better than your own." she sneered.
"Are you calling me stupid,Sabriel Robbins? And what in the heck are you doing in the greenhouses with Snape?" Sirius asked menacingly.
"No, there are plenty of others who do that for me. And it's none of your business what I was doing with Severus in the greenhouses. Trust me, it's nothing more than what YOU do out there." she answered cruelly. " I have news for you, Sirius, for all of you in fact. No matter how stupid you think I am, I had my reasons for coming here. If you don't believe me, when Remus awakens, ask him what he remembers of tonight. I'll bet he'll tell you that he didn't even have the urge to bite me. You see, unlike the rest of you, I really know what goes on in his head! I understand werewolves. And if you really want to know why I came down here tonight, you can ask him that too, because I'm not about to tell any of you!" She turned to walk off, but James caught her by the wrist. She turned to glare at the blue eyed boy, her eyes conveying her anger quite thoroughly.
"We have a right to know, Sable. He's just as much our friend as he is yours. What's going on?" he asked insistently. Sable jerked her hand away from James, and laughed cruelly. The other two boys standing behind him only stared at her with anger.
"You wouldn't believe me if I did tell you, James. Especially if you agree with Sirius about me being like Severus. You see, unlike him, I want to help people all of the time, not just when it is convenient for me. Like I said, if you want to know why I came down here, ask Remus when he wakes up. It's his decision as to whether or not you find out." She turned on her heel and left them to watch her retreating figure.
'How dare they question my actions. They have no right to do that.' she thought as she worked her way back through the tunnel and back into Hogwart's castle.
She came to the door that was the entrance into Hogwart's castle minutes later. She had decided to go to the Gryffindor tower to grab a few pillows and a blanket before returning to her potions room to be alone. She definitely didn't want to have a run in with any of the Marauders in the morning. She made it to the tower without incident. After saying the password, she entered into the deserted common room. Making her way over to Lily's bedroom, she opened the door without a sound, slipping insideto gather up a few of her belongings before slipping back out of the Common Room and down the corridors into the secret room right off of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. She wasn't paying much attention to anything around her. She just had to get somewhere by herself to ponder all of the mess she had gotten herself into. She pulled out the little silver key and said the password to the suit of armor. It slid out of the way, revealing a door of wood. Sable fitted the key into the slot and opened the door silently. She entered the room, completely oblivious to the pair of eyes that had followed her from the corridors of the transfiguration hallway. They watched until the door shut with a definite click. Then, they disappeared into the murky shadows of the abandoned hallway, heading straight for the dungeons.
Back at the Shrieking Shack, James and Peter were surprised at the shouting match between Sirius and Sable. They had expectedSirius to be mad, but this was ridiculous. Sirius was still ranting when they entered the shack again. Remus was still sleeping, his body covered by Sable's cloak.
"Sirius, calm down. Everyone is alright. Nobody got hurt, and Remus is fine." Peter said, getting tired of Sirius' ranting.
"But what was she doing down here? She knows what Remus turns into on a full moon, and thanks to her the transformations aren't getting any easier for him!" he bellowed. It was a good thing that Remus was asleep due to a potion because Sirius' yells could wake the dead.
"She did help, Sirius." James consoled. "She gave him the potion that's put him to sleep. At least he won't be awake when he changes back."
"Sirius, you need to understand that the girl is a wolf herself," Peter tried to explain. "She knows what it's like to go through this, we don't."
"Yeah, we'll see about that when the time comes." Sirius snorted. James shook his head and reverted back to his Animagi form. It was going to be a long night. And he had a feeling that tomorrow was not going to be very pleasant for any of them. He laid down on the wooded floor, and watched as Peter and Sirius reverted back to their own forms. 'At least we don't have to hear Sirius gripe when we are in our Animagi forms.' James thought with a grin.
