The following afternoon, Lily noticed that Severus wasn't at lunch.
He wasn't in the library, either, or in the Charms classroom on the third floor where they usually met. She even ventured into the labyrinth-like dungeons in search of him and got as far as Dungeon Six, which contained only mirrors of varying shapes and sizes, before a group of Slytherins rounded the corner, forcing her to flee to the Entrance Hall.
Just as she was about to give up, she heard whispers on the fifth floor, near the prefect's bathroom. She peeked around the corner; Severus was in the middle of the corridor with Avery and Mulciber, deeply engrossed in conversation. Lily's heart sank, and she drew back before they could notice her. If she concentrated, she could just make out what they were saying.
"….told you, it's not…" muttered Severus.
Mulciber's voice was deeper than Severus' and more self-assured. "And I've told you that he doesn't give a damn what you…" His voice lowered, and Lily couldn't hear the rest of his sentence. There was something about the way Mulciber said 'he' that sent a chill down her spine. Severus mumbled a reply, and Avery laughed.
"You would say that, Snape, but that's not for you to…"
Their voices grew louder as they approached Lily's end of the corridor. She looked around frantically, but there was nowhere to hide. The wall across from her was bare except for a few musty paintings, and —
The Wandering Stairs! Lily could have jumped for joy. A brass doorknob was crammed between two portraits, jutting out from the stone. She turned the doorknob and the wall swung towards her. Inside was a cramped, twisting staircase, ascending with no end in sight. She slipped into the passageway and shut the door delicately behind her.
"Take me to the library," she told the empty staircase.
Immediately, there was a rumble, like the scraping of stone on stone, and the top of the staircase began to glow with a dim light. Lily took the stairs two at a time, nearly at a run, in case the Slytherins also noticed the doorknob in the corridor and decided to join her. She needn't have worried, though; she reached the top without incident and found herself facing a nondescript stone wall. Lily took a breath and stepped into the wall.
She came out the other side, between a row of bookcases in the library — the Herbology section, by the looks of it. Patches of grass sprung up between the wooden floorboards, and some of the books had sprouted long green vines. Turning around, she pressed her hand on the wall she had just walked through, but it didn't budge.
Lily grinned. A staircase that appeared randomly throughout the castle and took you exactly where you wanted to go? She loved being a witch.
In the next row over, the shelves were lined with books about magical plants of the Amazon, and she found an old, musty armchair beneath a couple of hanging boxwoods. Determined not to think about Severus — her Severus! — plotting with Avery and Mulciber, she curled up in the chair, pulled a slim Muggle novel from her bag, and began to read where she had left off.
An hour or so later, the soft sound of footsteps brought Lily out of her novel. She looked up, peering through the tendrils of the hanging plants. Severus was walking towards her, shuffling his feet on the carpet. He dipped his chin in greeting.
"Hi," she said warily, closing her book.
"Hi."
He sat on the floor, pulling a quill and Potions book out of his bag, as if he intended on studying. As if he hadn't just been talking with Avery and Mulciber, two people she knew he couldn't stand. She watched him turn to a dog-eared page of his Potions text and scribble something in the margins, apparently engrossed in his own thoughts. Well, if he wasn't planning on bringing it up, she would.
"Where did you go in Hogsmeade yesterday?"
He paused, quill hovering over his book. "After we parted ways? Nowhere interesting. Cerdiwen's, Zonko's…"
"You didn't… meet up with anyone?"
He blinked, his beetle-dark eyes fixed on his Potions book. After a moment, he glanced at her. "Actually, yes. I went to the Three Broomsticks with some people from my House. Lucius was there. You should have seen the way my housemates were falling over themselves to get his attention — it was pathetic."
"What was Lucius doing at the Three Broomsticks?"
Severus shrugged. "Looking for an ego boost?"
"He's involved in Dark stuff, Sev. It was obvious even when he was still in school with us, and if you're getting drinks with him at the Three Broomsticks…"
"I did not get drinks with Lucius Malfoy," snapped Severus. "Obviously he's an arrogant bonehead with more hair than sense. But when you belong to Slytherin House, and Lucius Malfoy wants to speak with you, it's in your best interest to put aside any personal feelings and attend."
"So you're just trying to keep the peace?"
"Trying and failing." Severus shut his textbook. "But that's not good enough for you, is it?"
"I just don't see why —"
"Why I can't just tell Lucius to leave me alone?" he hissed. "Because then not only will I have Potter and Black to contend with, but my own House too, and I don't know if you've noticed, but they're not exactly thrilled with me as is — "
"Why do you care so much what they think?" she asked, rather louder than she had intended. Hopefully Madam Pince, the librarian, couldn't hear. "Lucius is a Dark wizard, Sev, and if there's that much pressure in Slytherin to join up with his lot, then —"
"Then what?" he said, standing up. "Should I tell Dumbledore and confirm his suspicions that Slytherins are the root of all evil? Ask the Sorting Hat to reconsider me for Hufflepuff?"
"There has to be something— "
"There's nothing," he said flatly. "There's nothing I can do except keep my head down and remain neutral, and even that draws unwanted attention, both in my House and yours."
Severus couldn't conceal the hurt in his voice, and she almost believed he was telling the truth.
Almost.
"Were you even planning on telling me that you met with Lucius?" asked Lily. "Or were you hoping I wouldn't bring it up?"
The answer was written on his face. He glared at her, lips pressed into a thin line as though biting back a retort. Then he whirled on his heel and stormed out of the library.
Good, thought Lily. Leave. I don't care. She looked down at the book she was holding and tried to summon the desire to open it back up and resume reading. The library felt too quiet all of a sudden. The Herbology section, which had seemed so lush before, smelled mouldy and damp, like rotting leaves. She stood with a sigh and slung her bag over her shoulder. She could always do some reading in the common room, she supposed.
Severus' oversized robes billowed behind him as he stalked through the dungeons. He nearly knocked over a pair of second years in his fury, but he didn't slow his pace. Lily had no idea what it was like to be him, to be continually mocked and underestimated and ostracised. It was so easy for her to lecture him about morality, as if only she understood right and wrong. She was such a Gryffindor.
And you're such a Slytherin.
He wanted to curse something.
He turned a corner and arrived at a bare stone wall. "Runespoor," he grunted, and the stones rearranged themselves, forming the dark passageway into the Slytherin common room. Excited voices echoed through the tunnel as he slunk inside.
Mulciber and Avery were standing by the hearth, surrounded by students; Mulciber immediately looked up and crooked a finger at him. Severus sighed inwardly and joined the group by the fire.
"There he is!" exclaimed Avery. He draped an arm around Severus, who wondered idly how difficult it would be to sever Avery's arm at the shoulder. "The man of the hour. I trust you've had some time to think about our little chat earlier?"
Severus kept his eyes on Mulciber. "I have."
"And?" prompted Avery. Mulciber raised his eyebrows.
Severus hesitated. Lily had looked so disappointed, and she'd thought he'd merely rubbed shoulders with Lucius. If she'd known Lucius was recruiting… that he had wanted Severus…
But that was irrelevant, now.
"Alright," he said, and Avery let out a whoop. Some of the other students grinned, swapping knowing looks. "But this doesn't leave the common room."
"That goes without saying," said Mulciber with a smirk. "Alright, then. What have you got for us?"
Severus shrugged off Avery's arm with more force than was strictly necessary. "We'll start with something simple." He drew his wand. Avery looked like he was about to wet himself from excitement. "This spell de-bones vertebrates. It helps with brewing potions… among other things." A couple of students sniggered.
After Severus had demonstrated his curse on a pair of unfortunate mice and taught the others how to replicate the spell, the group began to disperse. Severus Vanished the remains of the mice and wiped his wand on his sleeve, a dour expression on his face. He hated revealing his inventions to others, but he needed Mulciber to report good things to Lucius. Unlike Mulciber and Avery, Severus' last name had no pedigree; he had to prove himself through his talents alone.
"What a waste," said a voice. The beautiful seventh year girl from the Three Broomsticks was standing behind him, her wild, dark curls thrown up in a knot. "Being forced to share the spoils of your hard work and cleverness. Those imbeciles can't even begin to understand the ingenuity it took to create such a spell."
"They have no interest in understanding," muttered Severus. Across the room, Avery and Mulciber saluted him before climbing into the passageway that connected the common room with the dungeons.
Bella followed Severus' gaze. "Off to look for mice of their own, no doubt," she said lightly. She turned back to him and tilted her head to one side, thoughtful. "Would you like to have tea with me?"
"Not particularly."
"Will you come if I say please? I was headed to Dungeon Twelve before I noticed your little demonstration." She smiled at him, revealing a perfect row of square, white teeth. She was charming, and she knew it.
Severus figured he could use the company of someone he did not yet hate. "If you insist."
They left the Slytherin common room and walked deeper into the twisting dungeons. Side-by-side, Bella was much taller than him. She didn't seem interested in talking, and Severus certainly wasn't going to drive the conversation, so they walked in silence. Finally, at the end of a long corridor, they reached Dungeon Twelve.
Called the Fishbowl by younger, more impressionable Slytherins, Dungeon Twelve had the appearance of being entirely underwater. The walls were completely transparent, giving a clear view of the lake surrounding the dungeon. Even the floor and ceiling were translucent, and a group of Grindylows glided languidly through the algae beneath Severus' feet. Above them, the last traces of sunset filtered through the surface of the lake, bathing the room in an eerie, shifting green light.
"Excellent," said Bella as a school of large, silvery fish with multiple tails swam parallel to the wall. She closed the door, and it too disappeared, giving Severus an unobstructed view of the lake around them. The Grindylows swam up the sides of the room, giving chase to the school of fish.
"Out," commanded Bella, and Severus turned. She was addressing a group of sixth year Slytherins who were seated in the centre of the room.
"Bella, we're studying — "
"And you can do that elsewhere. I said OUT!"
There were echoes of her cousin Sirius in her voice, haughty and self-assured. The students began to pack up their things, but they weren't quick enough; with an upward swipe of her wand, Bella sent their papers flying into the air.
"Come on, Bella…" whined one of the students as the others scrambled to collect the whirling papers. He drew his wand and pointed at the fluttering sheets of parchment. "Accio —"
"Everte Statum," said Bella lazily. Her wand twitched, and the sixth years went flying backwards, flipping helplessly in the air and crashing against the wall. One of the students, looking panicked now, hastily pulled open the dungeon door while another Summoned the remainder of their belongings. The heavy wooden door slammed shut behind them, then faded from view.
"That's better," said Bella, as if she had merely brought the room to a more comfortable temperature. She and Severus wandered to the far corner of the dungeon, where Bella conjured up a pair of cushions for them to sit on.
"House-elf," said Bella imperiously once they had settled on the cushions. There was a loud crack, and a small, thin creature appeared, wearing nothing but a tea towel emblazoned with the Hogwarts crest.
"Yes, mistress?" squeaked the creature, bowing. One of its ears pointed straight up while the other flopped in front of its face, covering its eyes. Its limbs were unnaturally long and spindly. Severus had to force himself not to stare. He'd never seen a house-elf before, and hadn't expected them to look quite so… fragile.
"We'd like some tea," said Bella. Her tone wasn't bossy or demanding; on the contrary, she sounded so confident her orders would be obeyed that she didn't need to be bossy. "Black. I'll take cream and sugar with mine."
The house-elf bowed again and turned towards Severus, brushing its ear out of the way. "And for young master?"
"Earl grey," said Severus. "Hot." In case it wasn't obvious.
The house-elf gave them a final, floppy-eared bow and vanished with another loud crack. Seconds later, there was a popping noise, which gave Severus a start. A silver tea tray had appeared in front of them, containing their tea and a small platter of scones.
"Good service," said Severus. He tried to affect a disinterested tone, as if he hadn't just jumped five feet in the air.
"Oh, they're darling," said Bella as she reached for the teapot. "My aunt has one I adore, he's so precious." She poured a bit of tea into her cup. "You'll have never seen one before, though, have you?"
Severus blinked at her question, wondering if he'd committed some sort of faux pas that made it obvious he'd never interacted with a house-elf. She met his eyes and smiled. "I just figured, given your background…"
Right, thought Severus bitterly. Because I was raised by a Muggle and a witch who may as well have been one. He should have known that even among seventh year Slytherins, his parentage would be seen as an oddity. "That was my first encounter with a house-elf, yes."
"I can't even imagine." Bella widened her eyes and shuddered dramatically. "What was it like? Growing up with a Muggle for a father?"
Her curiosity seemed innocent enough, but Severus had no desire to relate the details of his miserable upbringing to a girl he'd just met. "It was exactly as you'd expect it to be."
"That's awful," said Bella, sounding sympathetic. "Although at least you knew what you were, though, because of your mum. Can you imagine, spending your whole childhood in that world, without knowing anything about ours?" She shook her head. "I feel sorry for Mudbloods, honestly. Even after they get their letter and learn that they're magic, they still don't really belong, neither here nor there. Caught between two worlds… I don't expect anyone could be truly happy living like that."
Severus was impressed at both this unexpected display of compassion and at Bella's word-for-word parroting of the anti-Muggle pamphlets that had been making their way around Slytherin House in recent weeks. Apparently, the propaganda was leaving a more lasting impression than he had thought.
"I imagine it would be difficult," he said, thinking of Lily, who certainly didn't seem caught between two worlds.
"It's a good thing they're dying out, I suppose," said Bella indifferently. "One way or another."
That sounded more like the Death Eater in training he knew her to be, but he had no interest in showing approval for that sort of ideology, so he said nothing.
His silence didn't go unnoticed. "Oh, I don't care if you agree about that," said Bella. "I think we'd be doing them a mercy, but I'm not obsessed with blood purity the way some people are. I think we have that in common… and other things, too."
She put such significance on the last bit that Severus felt obligated to respond. "I'm not sure what you mean."
"I mean I'm not like the other imbeciles in our House, and I don't think you are, either. I don't care about having power, or control, or keeping the Mudbloods in their place." She fixed her dark eyes on him. "What I like is magic — Dark magic. Bending it to my will, shaping it, feeling the way it runs through me and remaking it into what I want." A wild light danced behind her eyes. "I've seen you with your spells, and I think you like it too."
Well, there was no denying that. Dark magic was twisted and unpredictable, its bounds nearly limitless. Ordinary magic couldn't compare, really. He nodded his agreement and she grinned, her expression making her look somewhat feral.
"I knew it," she said. "I knew we were alike. And the Dark Lord — he's the same way as us. He knows the secrets of Dark magic better than I do, he's been showing me." She touched her left arm, raising her eyebrows at Severus as she rubbed the sleeve of her robe. "Maybe I'll share some of what I've learned with you, if you're lucky."
Of course you don't care about power, thought Severus, his eyes on her arm. You've already got it.
Lily Evans was in a foul mood.
As if it wasn't enough that she and Severus had rowed, she now had to spend her Sunday evening babysitting James Potter — James Potter! — as he served his detention. During the week, detentions were overseen by the Heads of House. Since it was the weekend, though, Professor McGonagall had delegated the task to the Head Boy, who had delegated it to the seventh year Gryffindor prefects, who had delegated it to the sixth year prefects, who had delegated it to Lily. She had hoped that Remus Lupin would have been able to supervise the detention with her, too — the presence of one of James' friends might have meant she could interact with him less — but she hadn't been able to find Remus anywhere that evening.
She stormed up the stairs to Gryffindor tower, passing the portrait of the Fat Lady and continuing up the winding staircase. Eventually, she reached a ladder that stretched up through several makeshift wooden platforms. The ladder led to the belfry, which was so far above it was out of sight. After casting an Anti-Gravity Charm on herself — she wasn't about to risk falling off the ladder, after all — she began to climb, her thoughts dark. Maybe James wouldn't show. Maybe his fat head would cause him to slip off the scaffolding of the bell tower and plummet to his death.
Well, perhaps not his death. Maybe he'd just be permanently incapacitated.
James was waiting for her at the top of the ladder, and her heart sank. Damn it all.
"Evening, Evans," he said cheerfully. He offered her a hand, which she refused. "Lovely night, isn't it?"
"Let's just get started," she said, brushing off her knees as she stood up. "You are to clean the Bell of Merlin — that's the big one, in the middle — and polish it. McGonagall also wanted you to polish the Bells of Cadogan and Morgana, if there's time. Cleaning spells —"
"…are prohibited," he finished, smirking. "Not my first detention, Evans. And I know which one the Bell of Merlin is, Merlin himself knows I've cleaned it enough times —"
"Then you should be able to finish quickly," retorted Lily. "I'll be over here if you need me. Which you won't."
She sat on the floor of the belfry, watching as he picked his way over the wooden beams to the Bell of Merlin. Once he'd reached it, he placed one hand on the massive bell for balance and turned towards her. "I suppose I'm allowed to conjure up some rags?" he called. "Or do I need to use my tongue?"
"Rags are fine," said Lily, glowering. James grinned, his eyes on Lily, and pretended to lick the bell as he pulled his wand out of his back pocket. Lily flushed. "That's just foul!"
"Good point." James pulled off one of his shoes, then his sock. "The poor bell doesn't deserve that, it doesn't know where I've been…" With a wave of his wand, the sock turned into a large, dirty rag. He stuffed his foot back into his shoe and began to polish the bell, oblivious to the fact that Lily was fuming.
"Potter," she said with as much calm as she could muster, "you can't polish the Bell of Merlin with your sock —"
"Why not?" he asked, widening his eyes innocently.
"Because it's a precious historical artefact! It needs to be treated with respect!"
"Honestly, Evans," he said, shaking his head. "I always knew you fancied me, but to call my sock a precious artefact…"
"You know I meant the bell, you prat!"
"You're too easy to work up," he said, continuing to polish the bell. "Not that I mind, seeing as you're cute when you're angry…"
Lily was too livid for words.
"Ah, Evans, come off it," he said, noting her expression. "I'm just taking the mickey. You know I'm rubbish at conjuring, it's so much easier to use Transfiguration…"
"But a sock, Potter? Really?"
"Would you rather I used my shirt?" he asked with a wink.
Lily rolled her eyes. "Fine. Do what you want. Just don't bother me." She pulled her book out of her bag and flipped to where she had left off, determined not to engage him any more than she already had. In her peripheral vision, he shrugged and continued working.
Some time later, she looked up, only to discover that James had vanished. "Potter?" she said loudly. She stood and walked to the edge of the wooden platform. There was no sign of him. "Are you there?"
A foot peeked over the top of the enormous Bell of Merlin, followed by the rest of him. James was hanging upside-down in the air, as if suspended by the ankle. "You called?" he asked, his voice strangely muffled.
Lily almost screamed. "Get — get down from there — if you fall and break your neck —"
"I imagine you'd get to turn in early if I did," said James, still talking as if he was chewing a large wad of gum. His mop of hair was even more tousled now that he was upside-down. He kept his wand pointed at himself, and with a jerking motion, he levitated up and over the massive bell so that he was floating in the air in front of Lily, high above the crisscrossing wooden beams.
"Are you insane?" she said, beginning to sincerely think he might be.
"Well, how else was I going to clean the very top of the bell? Since I can't use cleaning charms —"
"You could have used a ladder like a normal person!" she exclaimed. "You could have levitated your rag —"
"Ladders are for Muggles." He used his free hand to pull down his shirt, which had come untucked from his trousers and was flopped over his face. "And as far as the rag goes, where's the fun in that?"
"You're in detention! It's not supposed to be fun!"
"And yet I'm having a great time," he said, grinning broadly. "You should come up here too and — oops —"
His rag had fallen out of his pocket, tumbling through the rafters of the belfry. He turned his wand away from himself, towards the falling rag, and she realised what was about to happen. "Accio —"
"POTTER, NO!"
But it was too late. James dangled in the air for a moment, his eyes widening in shock as he realised what he'd done; he clapped one hand over his mouth, almost comically. Then, his levitation spell broken, he dropped like a rock, plummeting headfirst through the lattice of wooden beams, towards the bottom of the tower —
"LEVICORPUS!" yelled Lily, dropping to her knees at the edge of the platform and pointing her wand downward. If he actually falls to his death tonight —
There was a crash, then silence. Lily's pulse hammered in her throat. Come on, come on —
A large, dark shape sped upwards, smashing through the rafters and flying above her head. Ten feet above her, it stopped.
"Er." James Potter grimaced as he hung upside-down in the air. "Thanks. Think I might have broken a foot, though…"
Lily flicked her wand, jerking him towards her until he was dangling above the platform. "Liberacorpus," she growled, too angry to cast the spell nonverbally. He collapsed beside her, groaning and holding his ankle tenderly.
Lily briefly considered leaving James to fend for himself — broken bones were commonplace at Hogwarts, and this was surely not his first — but her conscience got the better of her. With a sigh, she knelt down and rolled up his trouser leg to expose his ankle, which was badly cut and beginning to swell.
"I suppose this gets you out of detention," she said, straightening. "Since we'll have to take you to the hospital wing. Though how you expect to climb down the ladder with a broken ankle is beyond me…"
"I can do it," said James through gritted teeth as he crawled towards the ladder. "And I'm not going to the hospital wing."
"Fine by me," said Lily. James looked up, seeming genuinely surprised that she was not arguing the point. She rolled her eyes at his expression. "It's not my problem that you don't even have the common sense to go see Madam Pomfrey after a fall."
"That wasn't… technically… a fall," he panted, easing himself down the ladder. "Seeing as I didn't actually hit the ground."
That was almost funny. Not that she'd ever admit it. "I wouldn't be so certain," she said. "Test my patience again and you might just find yourself at the bottom of the belfry."
"Surely you wouldn't hurt a cripple," he replied, wincing as he climbed down the rungs.
Lily bit back a smile. "Go ahead and try me."
After what seemed like ages, they arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady, and Lily gave the password to let them in. She climbed into the portrait hole, but James remained outside.
"Erm…" he said awkwardly. "You know… I was thinking I might go down to the hospital wing after all. My ankle actually hurts a lot."
"Great idea," said Lily. She wanted nothing more than to climb into bed and finish reading her novel. Babysitting James was exhausting. "You do that."
"I will," said James. "And, er, Evans…"
She kept going. The portrait of the Fat Lady swung shut behind her, and she didn't look back.
Sirius pulled off the Invisibility Cloak as soon as the entrance to the Gryffindor common room had closed behind Lily. "Let me get this straight," he said. "Your punishment for duelling to impress Lily Evans… was that you got to spend more time with Lily Evans? How did you manage that one?"
"I know," said James. He hobbled to where Sirius and Peter stood, grimacing from pain. "Lucky me, I guess."
"I think there might be something wrong with your ankle, mate," observed Peter as James draped an arm around his shoulders for support. "Just a feeling I've got."
"Really?" said James. "That's funny, I hadn't noticed…"
Sirius pulled the Invisibility Cloak over the three of them, and they vanished from sight. "Your little date with Evans went poorly, I assume," he said as they started down the corridor. "Even by your usual standards…"
"Not my most shining moment, yeah," agreed James. "Kept my leaf in though, which was bloody difficult. You've got everything we need?" he added. Sirius nodded.
"I can't believe we're finally doing it," said Peter as they rounded a corner. "After three years of trying—"
"Don't jinx it yet, Pete," warned James. "There's still about five hundred feet before we reach the Astronomy tower."
But they climbed to the top of the tower without incident, apart from James' muttered curses as he hopped up the stairs.
"Sweet Merlin, and it's a clear night," said Sirius, looking at the starry sky. The full moon hung bright and heavy above them. "Couldn't ask for better."
"Yeah," said James as he pulled off the Cloak. "It's weird, isn't it? Thinking right now, Moony's…" he trailed off and glanced beyond the parapet, towards Hogsmeade.
"Soon he'll have us for company, at least," said Sirius. He pulled the decanter made of black glass out of his bag, along with three crystal phials and the package bound with twine that James had picked up from Pippin's.
"What form do you think your Animagus will take?" Peter asked Sirius, who was arranging the phials along the wall of the parapet.
"Well, yours will be a mosquito, obviously…"
James snorted and unwrapped the package, revealing three chrysalises the colour of clotted blood. "Are we ready?"
Sirius and Peter nodded and took a step back from the wall. James spared another glance at the moon.
"Together then," he said. "One, two, three —"
He reached into his mouth and pulled out his leaf, while the other two did the same. Mandrake leaves were generally thick and fibrous, but being exposed to saliva for a month had turned his to a dark green paste. He dropped the mush into one of the phials, and Sirius and Peter followed his lead.
Then he unstoppered the decanter, measuring out a trickle of dew with a silver teaspoon. He poured the dew into the phials, one teaspoon at a time, and placed a chrysalis into each phial. Finally, all three of them tugged out a lock of their own hair and added it to the mixtures.
Satisfied, James stoppered the phials and stepped back. They waited.
Nothing happened.
Peter broke the silence first. "That's it? After all that work?"
"I was expecting something a little more dramatic," agreed Sirius with a shrug. "But I guess we'll have to wait till the next electrical storm for that."
"But a storm could take ages," said Peter. "Are we supposed to just sit around —"
"Yeah, we are, actually," said James irritably. His ankle was hurting worse now, throbbing with every second he put weight on it. "We'll lock our potions in the dorms, so we won't be tempted to look —"
"By 'we', he means you, Pete," said Sirius, nudging Peter.
"— and we'll say the incantations, and we'll wait." James tucked his phial inside his robes. His injured ankle rolled underneath him, and he stumbled. Sirius caught him before he could fall.
"You should really go see Madam Pomfrey, mate," he said. He pulled his wand out of his robe and conjured a pair of crude wooden crutches for James to lean on.
"Show-off," muttered James, but he took the crutches.
As he turned to leave, he looked once again towards Hogsmeade. It might've been his imagination, but he thought he could hear a distant, mournful howl.