"Erin! Hey, Erin! Wait! Stop!"

I could faintly hear Sirius calling after me as I sprinted down the street, dodging puddles and clumps of shoppers. A quiet ringing noise had started to take over my ears, muffling everything except one thought: Get to that dog.

I watched its tail disappear down a side street, heading out of town towards the hills. My heart thudded. Almost skidding into a group of younger Hufflepuffs, I slid around the corner and caught the sight of its back legs wriggling through a gap in a fence. My heart beat pounded in my ears. It didn't matter that my lungs were screaming for breath. Get to that dog.

I ran, taking the fence at speed and using one hand to vault myself over. It led onto a path that followed away from the village, through a patch of woods and further out into the countryside. Trees started to grow thick and fast on either side of me as I followed blindly after the animal. A branch whipped my cheek sharply. My feet carried on.

Before long, I had completely lost sight of it.

But this had to mean something. I was so sure of it. I had to keep going. It'll show up again. It had to.

I would be lying if I said that I hadn't given those three animals from that night a second thought. The stag, the rat… The dog. After all, if it hadn't been for them, I wouldn't be here now. Maybe I want to give my thanks, I wonder to myself, as each leaping step pounds in my ears. I owe them my life. I have to give them something back. I have to find out what they were doing there that night.

The woods opened up and I found myself midway up a hill, looking out onto the valley. My feet ground to a halt as I decided to catch my breath. My throat was burning from the cold and I panted for breath, stretching my arms up to try and ease the pain in my chest. As I scanned the area for the dog, my eyes fell on a small derelict building at the top of the nearest hill. It was shabby and looked like it was likely to fall apart on the chance that a strong gust of wind were to hit it. A tattered fence hugged the outside, giving off a warning to everyone that passed not to enter.

My arms drop to my sides, lost of all energy. I was staring at the fabled Shrieking Shack.

I took in the boarded up windows and wooden panels building up its exterior. The mouldy shade of its walls and its two, small but obvious, floors pulled at my memory. Darkness. Splinters in my palms. Cold. Fear

It clicked.

And the surprise almost choked me.

That's the place the werewolf was that night. That's where Snape left me. I was in the haunted Shrieking Shack the whole time. I let my legs give way underneath my weight. All I could do was stare, listening to my pounding heartbeat and letting the snow seep through my jeans.

It's not haunted after all. It's the home to a werewolf once a month. That's where the tales come from. Oh god.

A sudden scuffle of noise to my right made me pull out my wand and clamber onto my knees. My hand shook, pointed outwards at the sound. It's not a full moon. Don't panic, I tried to think over my fright, you're safe.

A small wet nose appeared from behind a tree as the black dog from earlier appeared. It trod over to where I knelt, curiously sniffing at the ground every so often. When it reached me, it pressed its cold nose onto my thigh. I realised quickly that this wasn't the same dog – the breed was slightly different, as was the colouring and length of its fur. I was unsure whether to be relieved or annoyed at this.

"Hey boy," I whispered, using my wand free hand to run my fingers across its fur. The dog sniffed at me with its black eyes. Sighing, I glanced back to the shack.

"You're not who I was looking for. The dog I'm looking for has darker fur. And these brilliant silv-"

My blood ran cold. I froze.

No.

No.

Fuck. The dog from that night had silver eyes.

Silver eyes. Erin. You are so stupid. You've seen those silver eyes before.

I choked on the breath I had been holding. No. There was no way. This is too much.

My memory painfully replayed the scene over and over. The dog. Padding down the stairs. It helped me over to the trapdoor. It had met my eyes. More than animal. More emotion than any animal I had ever met.

The rat. The stag.

I felt like I was going to faint. Or suffocate. Or have a panic attack.

Definitely the latter.

I couldn't breathe. My chest felt tight and constricted as I wheezed in and out. Nothing I could see was in focus.

It was them.

The dog seemed to sense my panic because it gave a short yelp and padded in a circle around me before taking off into the woods again. My hand missed the warmth of its fur. But the thought of it sticking around made me feel sick. I didn't want to see another dog for a millennia.

Breathe, Erin, Breathe. I tried to push the horrible realisation out of my mind to focus on keeping myself together. Funnily enough, I wasn't very good at it.

I could never look at the Marauders again. I was embarrassed. Embarrassed that I had been so scared in front of them. That people who I could call close friends had seen me in that state of panic. And I was so, so mad that they hadn't told me; that they let me suffer with nightmares and scars; that they didn't give me the option of talking about what happened with someone who could understand. All my fear welled up into rage. I found my breath levelling out. This is their fault. They can share the blame with Snape for fucking my mind up. How dare they keep this from me?!

Clenching my fists, I found the energy to stand. Without a second to think it through, I started to march back into the woods, returning the way I came. I saw nothing but the path ahead of me. Those bastards. And him. How could he be around me and act so- so oblivious?

I guess that wasn't so true. All the shifty secrets and silences to my questions slotted into place. They can transform into animals, and for some reason, that secret is more important than helping me heal. I didn't care how self-centred it sounded. All of my memories from today turned sour. I was in love with a liar.

"Erin? Erin?" Out of the blue, I heard a soft voice calling for me.
"Lily?" I shouted back, whipping my head around to try and spot her.

I catch up with her at the fence on the edge of town. She's all layered up in a huge coat and scarf, but her cheek and ears are bright pink from the weather. Her eyes widen when she sees me, flicking down the my wet jeans and back up to my dishevelled expression.
"Erin! There you are! We've been looking all… over…" Lily trails off, lifting one hand to her mouth, sensing something wrong.
Wordlessly, I clamber back over the gate and take a shaky breath.
"I'm here now."

I start striding immediately back to the high street, my hands curled into tight fists. I can't decide if I want to march right up to the boys and confront them, or crawl back to my bed and cry.
Lily followed, jogging slightly to match my speed.
"Erin, what's wrong? Where did you go? Sirius came rushing into the Three Broomsticks like a mad man! Said you completely freaked out and took off. We've all been out looking but-"
"Remember how I said I didn't want to talk about what happened to me?" I say suddenly, causing Lily to jump.
"Y-yeah?"
"I've changed my mind. I'm going to tell you. Snape put me in the fucking Shrieking Shack – the one that I just rediscovered through those woods right there – And your beloved James Potter and the rest of his scumbag friends knew. They knew, Lily. They were there. And guess what else was there? A werewolf. A werewolf that tried to kill me. Almost succeeded, to be honest. But those bloody Marauders were there. And failed to tell me."
I finished my rant, realising that Lily was no longer beside me. She had stopped in her tracks a few paces back with an expression on her like she'd been dunked in freezing water. Her hands hung limply at her sides. I stopped too, turning to face her, my anger wavering.

"Lily? Hello?" I waved a hand over her eye line. A tight knot squirmed in my stomach. I worried that I'd frightened her too much.
"Y-yeah," Lily mustered, shaking her head. "Sorry. Lot to take in. Um. Sorry. Can we rewind a minute?"
I nodded in response. Nervously, I clasped my hands at my waist and waited for her to chew her lip in thought.
"You- Okay- The werewolf, yeah, okay… I'd figured that out ages ago. But… how were the other boys there too without getting injured?" Lily tilted her head and pierced me with a sharp gaze.
"They… Wait, you figured what out?"

We stared at each other in silence, the snowy wind whirling around us. I got the feeling that we were both the holders of dangerous information. I wasn't sure if I could actually say the words out loud to her: The Marauders learnt how to be animagus.

Except…

Wait. Every Marauder didn't.

I only saw… three… animals…

So. The other. No. No.

In the middle of the cobbled street, looking into the knowing eyes of my best friend, all the pieces slotted into place.

"Oh my god," I mumbled, before crouching down in a panic and placing my hands over the hat that Sirius had given me what felt like years ago.

"Oh my god." I repeated and repeated and repeated.

My muscles felt strained to the max. I couldn't breathe properly.

Tiny pale hands were placed on my knees. I heard a gentle voice over the pounding in my head.
"It's okay. It's okay. You're safe now. You're safe."

But it wasn't okay.

All I could see in my mind was the fragile smile of Remus Lupin as he tried so hard to be nice to me over the past week. He was trying so hard.

Because he had accidently almost killed me.

I felt all the blood rush to my head.

Just before I passed out, I swore I heard Sirius's voice calling out my name, and feeling warm, strong hands catch my back as I toppled backwards into darkness.