Lycanthropy

Lily and I stared back at one another, sobering immediately. Without saying a word we both made a dash for James' retreating back. We may as well have been eating his dust considering the speed he was going.

Why was he so panicked to hear about Snape going to the Whomping Willow?

Ripping off my heels off as I ran through the corridors, I found myself instigating a few strange looks from loitering students, but at that moment I didn't care, there was no way I was losing him.

I just knew that, intentional or not, Sirius had done something truly awful.

.o.

"Going to tell me what's going on?" Lily shouted to me as we skipped the last few stairs heading out of the entrance hall and leapt onto the castle grounds, the damp grass soaking uncomfortably through the soles of my tights.

There wasn't time for explanations, the exertion of sprinting was already too much.

When I spotted James in the distance I doubled my speed, and felt a familiar stabbing pain underneath my ribs.

I cursed inwardly. Not now I told it, trying to ignore the growing cramp and taking deeper breaths as I ran.

Once the reassuring glow from the hall was well behind us it began to dawn on me how stupid we had been to just follow like this, with no idea of where he was even going.

Lily's staggered, harsh breaths came at my side and I remembered I wasn't doing this alone. I was in Gryffindor after all, wasn't this bravery deal supposed to be our thing? Besides, I had to know what was going on with them.

From the corner of my eye I noticed she had come to a sudden halt and I almost tripped over myself to stop in time to see that James had reached the thrashing willow tree.

I watched frozen in shock as my messy haired tormentor raced amongst the pounding branches all ready to make mincemeat out of him.

"James!" Lily screeched deafeningly, making it obvious that she cared for him more than she'd ever let on.

But Potter didn't seem to hear her inexplicable panic for his life, and out of nowhere a thick gnarled arm swung impossibly hard and fast for his head.

Covering my ears reflexively, I watched in surprise as he dropped to the floor like an invisible hand had pushed him down, performing an expert duck and roll that I knew he must've picked up in his Quidditch training.

Successfully dodging the massive impact, he reached out to grab a large branch from the ground on his way back up.

Holding it up like a baseball bat, it looked a lot like he was going to try and fight the willow with one of its own branches.

As if in retaliation, yet another arm whistled hard and fast against the wind in his direction, and it was at that exact moment that I knew.

It was the last time we would ever see James Potter alive.

.o.

Without a moment's hesitation, James brandished the club at the tree and took a hard swing for the roots, as if trying to attack it from a different angle.

But as his branch made contact, Lily and I watched in amazement as something utterly unexpected happened.

Giving a large shudder in response, the tree groaned to a halt, just like someone had pressed the pause button.

The Whomping Willow had frozen mid-move.

Without another glance back, James seemed to fall feet first into a gaping hole at the foot of it.

"What-?" I murmured aloud, not comprehending what had just happened.

We both went to rush over to where he had disappeared, but not a moment later the tree had resumed its violence, blocking our entrance.

Lily and I just looked on dumbly, watching the willow apparently swallow one of the only boys who had mastered the ability to be impossibly amusing and frustratingly intolerable all at the same time.

It made me think of Sirius, but I didn't even want to contemplate where he was at this moment.

My heart gave a painful tug and I realised just how far I had let my guard down when it came to him. It had taken me years to trust a boy enough to let him get close thanks to the Marauders relentless bullying. And after all of that I had let one of them get under my skin.

.o.

We were still waiting for a sign of life after what felt like an hour later. Neither of us spoke, the only noise our shallow breaths blowing out the precious warmth from our bodies.

"We need to go to Dumbledore," Lily uttered eventually, her voice low. Her pale face and long spiralling hair made her look like a terrified spirit lost out on the moors.

Just like me, she was still wearing her dress from the party; too short, too thin and too revealing for this cold night. We jarred against our darkened, feral surroundings.

Lily's purple rimmed eyes bored into mine, pleading with me to move. Finally I nodded. She was right. We weren't doing anything there apart from freezing to death.

I felt her small arm snake its way into mine as we made to walk away, huddling close to stave away the chill.

We had managed just a few steps, however, when a sudden change in our surroundings stopped us in our tracks again.

I shook my head slightly in an attempt to bring the background noise back to my ears. It was as if all natural life had been put on mute.

But it wasn't just me experiencing it. The whistling of the breeze, the shaking of the leaves. Everything really had stopped. It was almost as if we were right in the eye of a storm.

Lily and I turned back around to face the tree slowly, hardly daring to look. Just like earlier, the willow had stopped its whomping.

We watched for a second as nothing seemed to move until, in a sight as welcome as a desert mirage, a solitary black head of hair reappeared from the hole at the base of the tree. Following just a breath behind James came another dark head.

I was shocked to find that it was Snape. He had been down there the whole time.

Lily's sharp intake of breath told me Snape was the last person she had been expecting down there too. His expression looked like nothing I had ever seen before. Petrified didn't even begin to cover it.

When his body lurched forward unnaturally, I noticed another pair of arms shoving him roughly out of the hidden tunnel from behind, and Snape fell forward on his hands and knees, sprawling on to the wet grass.

My stomach lurched when I saw the culprit.

"Sirius," I breathed.

Lily's gaze darted towards me as though she had forgotten I was there. She too had been absorbed in sick fascination at the scene playing out in front of us.

In a swift movement, Sirius extracted himself from the hidden passage.

Sheer rage seemed to haze the outline of his body, and he glowered terrifyingly at Snape as though he wanted nothing more than to finish off the boy's existence once and for all.

I had never seen him look so out of control.

Unable to tear my eyes away from them, my head spun with trying to understand what in earth had happened down there.

James gripped Snape under the arms and heaved him up, sending a warning glare in Sirius's direction. Using his broad shoulders as a support system, he hauled Snape up and away from the tree.

Once they were at a safe distance he dropped him unceremoniously, leaving the pale shadow of a boy to flop ungainly back to the floor. It was as though Snape had lost all control over his own limbs. His faraway eyes maintained the haunted look of a person who had experienced something they wished they hadn't.

Once all three boys were all well away, the tree sprang back to life. It made me wonder if Peter and Remus were still down there somewhere. Somewhere in that strange, creepy passage lurking underground.

Still not aware that we were watching through the darkness, James doubled over to catch his breath, and Snape was left to crawl to his knees on the ground, any shreds of dignity seemingly forgotten.

"You idiot, Sirius!" James's voice came out harsh between panting breaths. "Do you realise what you could've done?"

Sirius stared back at him unabashedly, his own chest heaving from exertion.

"Everything we've worked so hard for," James continued. "All those years spent in the bloody library. Do you ever think about what you're doing before you just go ahead and risk everything?"

I had never heard him speak to his best friend like that before.

"It was a joke," Sirius replied, refusing to relent to James's anger.

Potter breathed out a scoff. "Really hilarious, well done."

"Oh save me the holier than thou act, James," Sirius spat, losing his temper now. "Don't pretend you'd be bothered if Snivellus had been ripped to shreds."

He looked pitilessly at the fear-stricken boy still collapsed on the floor in front of them, and thrusted an accusing finger towards him.

"He went down there to watch Remus suffer," he said. "Wanted to find out what was going on as some sort of petty revenge. If he had've met Moony down there, it would've served the greasy little Death Eater right. Go on," he shouted, "Let's hear you deny it."

James looked away in disgust. "You don't get it-"

But we wouldn't find out just what Sirius didn't get, because Potter cut off suddenly. He had spotted us.

Seeing James's focus shift, Sirius followed his gaze straight over to us. When his eyes met with mine, he froze.

No longer able to watch from afar, Lily and I made our way over. We could not leave without some kind of explanation. But on hearing our approach, Snape raised his head, his eyes widening when he saw Lily.

"Lily," he cried, as if using his voice was an exertion in itself. "Get away!" His arm thrashed wildly, gesturing for us to get back.

"We-Werewolf!" he spluttered out, pointing back to the tree.

Lily looked taken aback. "What?" She murmured quietly, shaking her head as if not understanding.

"Remus is a-"

In an instant, Sirius had tackled Snape to the floor, pushing his face hard into the ground.

"You'll shut that big mouth of yours, or I'll shut it for you," he growled at him fiercely, ignoring Snape's frenzied clawing to free himself.

"Get off him!" Lily cried out, running over to try and desperately heave Sirius off, but he was much too strong for her cold-weakened arms to lift.

His silencing of Snape was pointless anyway. Suddenly everything had fallen into place.

.o.

"Remus," I said aloud, remembering Lupin's strange behaviour all evening.

Studying his watch every five minutes, telling Sirius he had to go without a second's delay. Glancing out the window like there was something terrible coming for him.

The full moon.

Sirius seemed to forget about his struggle with Snape, letting his hands fall away to look up at me.

He shook his head at me almost imperceptibly.

"Don't," he said.

His grey eyes burned into mine, pleading with and warning me at the same time.

Warning me to what? Keep my mouth shut about a snarling werewolf hidden underneath a tree in the Hogwarts grounds. It was impossible. Laughable, even. Remus, of all people. There had to be a mistake.

"Poor Remus." Lily breathed her realisation, and all at once I knew it was all ridiculously true.

Sirius lifted himself up from Snape, leaving him to gasp for air, his chest rattling. Amid his struggle to force life back into his lungs, Severus seemed to be laughing at the fact we had finally found out the truth. It was an horrific noise.

"Does Dumbledore know about your monster of a friend?" he asked, still taking in laboured breaths.

"Monster?" Sirius moved to assault the kneeling boy yet again, but this time James held his arm out to push him back.

"The Whomping Willow was Dumbledore's idea," James told Snape seriously. "All's said and done, you're the one trepassing, Snivellus."

Snape's lip curled.

"A thing like that shouldn't be allowed anywhere near civilised society," he spat, "full moon or otherwise. At a school no less. If that's the truth, Dumbledore's an even bigger fool than I always thought!"

James's arm now straining under the force of Sirius pushing to get his hands on Snape.

"Be quiet Severus," Lily commanded quietly, her eyes unblinking.

Snape seemed shocked by her reaction. "It is a monster, Lily," he appealed, as if she didn't truly understand. "The tunnel leads straight to the Shrieking Shack. I saw it."

"You saw nothing," James warned him.

"It was hideous," Snape continued undeterred. "Hideous. I saw where they hide it. Snarling, tearing the place up. I was lucky not to be killed!"

"Liar!" Sirius snarled. "You were at least twenty feet away when James caught you. Any closer and you would have been eaten. Pity."

Lily looked torn.

"They're unregistered Animagi, Lily," Snape got out quickly in a bid to claw back the control. "Has Potter told you that? You see I thought he would've considering how often he seems to profess his undying love for you-"

A sharp voice from behind cut abruptly through the stunned silence that followed. "Miss Morland, Miss Evans, what on earth are you doing out here at this time of-?"

McGonagall stopped speaking when she saw the rest of the strange collection of students on the grounds. A prefect, a Slytherin, a geek and two bullies. It was like a bad joke.

Realisation seemed to dawn on her face.

"Severus, you will go to Professor Dumbledore," she snapped. "Immediately."

Without a word of protest, Snape scrambled to his feet and made his way back to the castle, his expression alone giving away his bridled anger.

"As for you," she looked at Sirius and James pointedly, "I am uncertain as to the role you've played in tonight's proceedings, but trust me when I say I will find out. Come with me," she instructed.

"But Professor," James tried, his voice plaintive, "we have to get back to Remus. He needs us."

"I think you'll find what he needs right now is to be left alone in a safe place," she corrected tersely. "He is in no condition to accommodate your obvious foolishness. Follow me," she ordered, turning on her heel and taking long determined strides towards the castle.

James's face fell resignedly, realising his chance to return had passed.

In a turn of events, perhaps even more bizarre and unexpected than the fact that Remus was apparently a werewolf, Lily allowed him to fall into step with her.

As we started the long walk back up to the castle, I peered back to glance at Sirius. He was tailing behind us, as if still contemplating whether to make a run for it back to the willow.

He caught my eye, his expression poker faced. I wondered if he blamed us for distracting them before they'd had the chance to go back and help their friend.

Not wanting to be on the other side of his wrath that night, I moved to walk as far away from him as I could.

"You're not getting away that easily," a low voice came from close behind me.

I kept my gaze trained forwards away from him.

"I should be back there with him," he stated, his voice betraying his frustration.

I let out a steadying breath before speaking, "It's like McGonagall said. It's not safe."

"Not safe for people," he corrected. "She doesn't understand. We can help him."

I couldn't resist looking up at him now. "You are 'people'. What could you do?"

Sirius studied my face. "Didn't you hear Snape back there?"

In all of the confusion I had nearly forgotten Severus's final revelation.

"You're unregistered Animagi," I remembered, unsure whether to believe that they had performed such advanced, dangerous magic.

In the space of an evening my entire perception of the Marauders had been flipped on its head. It was nearly impossible to take it all in.

Sirius looked away from me.

"Have been since fourth year," he confirmed. "All so Remus wouldn't have to face all this on his own."

His face twisted, "Except thanks to Snivellus, it's just Moony and Pete down there now. And Peter's form isn't really cut out for if things turn nasty..."

My anger peaked unexpectedly.

"You told Snape to come here," I hissed. "I heard you after Potions that day."

His eyes darted to mine in surprise.

"It was a joke!" he exclaimed. "I never thought the fool would actually do it!"

"Jokes aren't usually life threatening," I replied.

Sirius looked unrepentant.

"Snape is old enough and, Merlin knows, ugly enough to know as well as anyone what werewolves are capable of," he stated. "If he wanted to put himself in the firing line to cure his incessant nosiness, it's not my problem."

My mouth pulled into a straight line.

"Except now it is," I reminded him. "Now it is your problem."

Sirius shook his head. "If Snivellus ever speaks a word of this to anyone, I'll kill him with my bare hands."

The scary part was he looked like he actually meant it.

.o.

"You saved Severus," Lily spoke to James just a step ahead of us, not bothering to veil the surprise in her voice. With perhaps just the tiniest hint of, what? Reverence?

"You might not like me Evans, but I'm not a cold-blooded murderer for Merlin's sake. I had no choice."

"You could have just left him though," she murmured. "Nobody would've known any different. It would just be put down to a terrible accident."

James closed his eyes briefly. "No," he stated. "Sirius didn''t get it. If anything was to happen to Snivellus-" he ignored Lily's frown at the nickname, "-lf Moony had, well, you know, bitten him or something... Remus would have never forgiven himself."

He shook his head. "They might have even decided he's not safe to be around 'normal' people. I couldn't let that happen, Lily. Not for someone as worthless as Snape."

Lily seemed to see him through new eyes. "You must care about Remus a lot," she said finally.

"I care about all my friends," James's eyes flashed earnestly. "I'd care about you if you'd let me," he added carefully, his voice impossibly low and sincere.

In that moment something seemed to pass between them. An electricity so powerful it was palpable from two feet away.

"Well, carry on like this..." she croaked weakly.

Then, leaning sideways towards him, Lily did something almost unbelievable. She placed her hand down by his side and hooked her forefinger around his.

James's face broke out into the first genuine smile I had seen on him all night.

He put his head down, either in surprise or to hide the unexpected blush that had crept up onto his cheeks.

Making the most of the opportunity, he repositioned himself to grasp her delicate hand fully in his.

"Well done, Prongs," Sirius muttered, surveying the exchange with no small amount of surprise. "At least something good came out of to tonight. Though he'll be impossible to live with after this."

After that, silence fell between us as we walked on, still following the marching McGonagall.

"So, what animal are you?" I asked, finally finding my voice.

Sirius looked across at me.

"Well if you really are an Animagus, you must know what animal you are," I said.

I knew Animagis were usually representative of that person in some way. Just like a Patronus. He looked to be in two minds of whether to actually answer me.

"Tell me," I insisted, confused by his unusual display of coyness.

The light of the entrance hall engulfed us as we stepped back into the safety of the school, and I paused to put my heels back on with McGonagall showing no signs of stopping.

To my surprise he actually held back for me.

In the bright light I could see his face properly. The usually handsome features looked tired.

"I'm a dog," he uttered.

I stared at him until it dawned on me. I had seen the dog's eyes before. The grey like molten steel.

Except it hadn't been Regulus.

For some unknown reason Sirius now looked like he was holding back a smirk. He honestly thought this was funny?

"It was you wasn't it?" I realised in outrage. "You growled at me! Practically chased me down!"

He let out his bark of a laugh. I should have known.

James and Lily glanced back, shooting us a strange look.

"I did," he admitted, not showing the slightest shred of guilt for it. "But then, I didn't really care for you much at the time."

As the grin grew in his face, I could tell he was starting to enjoy himself now. Annoyingly at my expense.

"You were on my, I mean Padfoot's, territory," he continued. "He can get shirty over things like that."

I narrowed my eyes at him, thinking frantically back to the meetings with what I now knew had been him all along. Had I said anything I shouldn't?

"It's not like you told Padfoot anything I didn't know already," he said, as if he had read my mind. "Besides, having to sit there and watch Javerbops try and come on to you was revenge enough. He's so full of it I nearly gagged on a hairball."

"It's Javerhops," I corrected unthinkingly.

"Whatever," he dismissed. "The Hufflepuff meathead aside, I'm still fairly new to this Animagus thing in the scheme of everything. It took us an age to get it right in the first place. Don't tell Pete I told you this, but he ended up going through a whole week's worth of lessons with an inch wide tail tucked into the back of his trousers."

His mouth lifted at the corner at the memory.

"Even now, instincts can take over very easily," he told me.

"So was it your 'instincts' when you came over to me on the bridge the other week?"

He tilted his head.

"Bit of both," he admitted.

"Never realised you liked having your ears scratched so much," I said, giving him a look.

"If you had to deal with fleas I'm sure you'd develop a preference for long nails too."

He paused for a moment before confessing, "Remus told me off me for that day on the bridge. Thinks taking on our alter ego away from the full moon is dangerous. 'Compromises everything'."

He spoke in an old woman's voice, smirking at his own impression.

I couldn't help but find it at least a little bit funny when he waved cheerfully back at McGonagall's subsequent death glare.

.oOo.

We ended up sat in Professor McGonagall's office until it got exhaustingly late; I don't think even she could decide exactly what to do with us, having not seen what had gone on.

"I trust that none of you will be foolish enough to leave the confines of the castle after sundown in the future?" she said eventually, clearly fatigued at hearing our differing versions of tonight clash confusedly with one another. All of which protected the actual truth. "And none of you will be breathing a word of Mr Lupin's ailment to anyone?"

She eyed Lily and myself carefully.

We all answered in the affirmative.

"I could expel you for that alone, you realise," she warned as she looked at our chagrined faces.

"What about Snape?" James demanded.

McGonagall stared back at him.

"Not that it particularly concerns you, Potter, but Severus will be properly cautioned I can assure you."

"Better do more than that," Sirius grumbled.

"Something to share, Mr Black?" she questioned tartly.

He flickered his eyes, but shook his head in answer.

"Good," she replied, "Now, as no one was hurt -though Merlin only knows how- I have decided, on this occasion, not to punish you."

She raised her eyebrows at us. "Well?"

"Thank you, Professor." Lily said quickly.

At the confirmation he definitely wasn't in trouble, Sirius allowed himself to relax into his usually cocky self.

"Knew I could count on you, Minny," he said, giving her a wink.

James's lips twitched, but he held back the snigger I was sure he was dying to give.

"Don't push it," the professor warned, her eyes flashing dangerously. "It's against my better judgement, believe me. You can thank Miss Evans and Miss Morland for that."

She gestured towards us, pursing her lips in disapproval. "I'm sure neither young lady would be involved in anything purposefully untoward," she said, shooting us a pointed glare.

We shook our heads quickly.

"Now leave," she ordered us. "All of you. Before I change my mind."

Leaping smoothly over the back of his chair, James beat us all to the door and held it chivalrously open for Lily.

I got up to follow and felt Sirius just behind me.

He rested a hand on the side of my waist as we left the room as if it was the most natural thing to do in the world, and I swallowed, feeling a gentle tug behind my navel.

"Sirius!" McGonagall called suddenly from her desk, causing both he and I to flinch guiltily.

Cocking a knowing eyebrow at us, she smiled wryly.

"Happy birthday," she said curtly.