Before anyone knew it, it was February. A light snowfall and chilling yet pleasant wind ushered it in.
"There's something that I should show you," Remus told the group one day.
"Alright," Peter said.
"Tonight," Remus said, nodding as though to reassure himself.
Classes went surprisingly quickly that day. Charms and Transfiguration were practical lessons, D.A.D.A, Potions, and History of Magic were lectures. At dinner, 'tonight' was discussed.
"What exactly are you going to show us?" Sirius asked nervously.
"I'll explain it later," Remus said, glancing around. He had been rather jumpy all day, not paying much attention to lessons.
"Mate, you're beginning to scare us," James said. "You've been acting like someone's following you. What is it?"
"Nothing, just…." Remus hesitated. "You have to promise not to do anything stupid, okay?"
"Yeah, sure," Sirius said uneasily. "But what, why-"
"You'll see," Remus said tensely.
That night, they set out onto the grounds shrouded in James' invisibility cloak.
"Towards the tree," Remus muttered.
"The Whomping Willow?" James asked. "Isn't that tree a little, I dunno, violent?"
Remus didn't reply. His eyes were cast on the ground as though looking for something. After a minute, he grabbed a long branch that must have fallen off the tree.
"See, I told you my theory wasn't crazy," Sirius said, turning to Peter and James.
Rather than hitting the tree, Remus directed the end of the stick towards a knot at the tree's center. The knot was prodded, and Peter gasped.
The tree stopped moving, its midst of whirling branches frozen like a Muggle photograph.
"Brilliant," James said. "Where'd you learn this?"
"Come on. It'll start moving again soon," Remus replied, and led them to the base of the tree. He pulled the cloak off and slid into a gap between the tree's roots.
"Woah," Peter said.
"Here, give me the cloak," James whispered. They pulled the cloak off and headed into the tree's roots.
Below the tree was a long tunnel. It was no more than four feet high and three feet wide, with compact dirt walls.
"What is this place?" Peter wondered aloud.
"It's where I go," Remus said quietly. "You know- during the full moon."
"You spend the night in a dirt tunnel?" Sirius asked.
"No, it's at the end of it," Remus said.
"That's what your showing us," James said, glancing at him.
"Yeah. Er, come on. It's a long walk," Remus told them awkwardly. With that, they began their trek.
It started silently. No one spoke. The only sound was the crunching of their footsteps on the decaying leaves that littered the tunnel floor.
Then, it became too silent, to the point where Sirius had to ask, "Are we going to talk, or not?"
"I was about five when it happened," Remus volunteered hesitantly. "My dad- he said some things he shouldn't have to the wrong person. His name was Fenrir Greyback. Greyback broke into my room during the full moon, and he bit me as revenge for what my dad said."
James, Sirius, and Peter turned towards him, startled.
"He hurt you because of something your dad said?" James asked incredulously.
"There was an investigation on Greyback, and my dad got riled up. He said some things against werewolves, which Greyback didn't like," Remus explained with a somewhat bitter tone.
Sirius swore. "That's why you're a werewolf? Because some idiot had a big ego?"
"Yeah. Anyway, there isn't a cure or anything, so I didn't have many friends back home. It was really just me, my mum, and my dad. It's not safe for people to be around me, you know. I didn't think I'd get to come here- to Hogwarts. Then, one day, a few years ago, Dumbledore showed up. He said that I could go to school here. The only problem was my condition. This is the solution he came up with," Remus said. "The tunnel ends soon, that's where I go during the full moon, so I don't hurt anyone. The tree is planted at the entrance so that no one finds me when I'm dangerous."
"That's…." Sirius didn't finish his sentence. He simply shook his head.
"You wanted to know where I was going," Remus said hollowly, "and you deserve the truth."
The boys were silent for another few minutes as this information soaked in.
The tunnel began to curve upward. It was about half a minute before there was a loud thump. James had hit his head on a wooden trapdoor.
"Ow," he muttered, rubbing the back of his head.
"Sorry- it's a bit hard to see," Remus apologized. He lifted the trapdoor and climbed out of the tunnel. "Just up here."
James and Peter followed, Sirius right behind them.
"Bloody hell," Sirius breathed when he saw where they were.
Pine planks lined the floors, gouged with claw marks. The green striped wallpaper was torn and peeling. A few lone pieces of furniture had been ripped terribly. Streaks of red were found throughout the room, on the walls, floor, stairs, furniture, and boarded up windows.
"God," James said, "This is-"
"Since there's no one here, I bite and scratch myself or the furniture instead," Remus said, refusing to meet their eyes.
"Is there anything we can do?" Sirius asked.
"Don't come here during the full moon," Remus said. "I don't want to hurt you."
The boys nodded.
There was nothing else they could do. At least, not then.