3/13/23
AN: While I was writing this chapter, I picked up that I miss-named Annie to Anna in the last chapter a few times. But I'm not going to change it as I hope everyone reading it knew who I was talking about and therefore that was why I didn't get any comments on it.
Also - Happy almost Winter Holiday's, I hope to get another chapter out before New Year, but don't expect it.
It was amazing how much a ten second head start could do to let the escapee get away.
In the time it took the mob chasing after him to reach the place he was when they started, he was already another ten seconds further away from them, looking for a way out of there.
Looking around he was trying to run, while also checking how close they were, and trying to dodge spells being fired at him.
Coming up across the Whomping Willow the man remembered the story Lupin and Black were just telling him and that that was a way out of the school.
Changing his course, he now headed towards that zapping the tree with his wand and diving to the tree's roots.
o0o
"Where's he think he's goin'?"Hagrid asked seeing the man heading towards the tree.
"To the shack" Lupin said heading after him, but caught by Jack.
"It will be faster to catch him on the other end." he said calmly.
"We don't have time to go back up to the school and then down to the village and up to the shack, Jack," Lupin said trying to be calm but his inner wolf snapping a little.
"Why don't you just disparate then?" Annie asked haring from a late 6th year that was how grown wizards travelled.
"Because you can't apparate or disapparate within the school grounds – not unless you're the head master, or with him for whatever reason that might be." Sirius said grumpily as well but agreeing with Jack, heading the man off would be better.
"I say some go after him, to keep him from turning back," Hermione said in a thinking voice "And some go into the village. While Hagrid, Annie, Baby Tooth and Professor McGonagall goes to tell either another teacher or Dumbledore what's happened so they can call the Ministry."
Agreeing to this, Bunny – taking the lead, Lupin, Sirius, Harry and Hermione went down the tunnel under the willow's roots, while Jack and Elisa raced to the broom-shed by the Quidditch grounds for their brooms.
If this wasn't such a serious, the two of them would probably have had some fun and made a race out of this and see who could do the best tricks.
But this was a serious situation, meaning they gripped hard onto their brooms, leant forward as far as they could go, and shot off almost as fast as the speed of sound (some exaggerating students would say in later years) towards Hogsmeade, flying high up in the sky to avoid the Dementors.
o0o
Down in the tunnel where nobody goes anymore, the man with the skull on his arm had paused to once again try and undo the cage that was holding Rat-Pettigrew, but like all the other times he tried, nothing happened.
"Aggh that stupid boy! Why did he have to put an ice spell on this thing and not a silencing spell? SHUT UP!" he added to the rat who was squeaking in fear and trying everything it could to get out himself.
He was about to continue his complaints when he heard scuffling coming from back down the tunnel telling him to move on.
o0o
Back at the castle, as Professor McGonagall (her Animagus form reaching the castle before they got there) set off straight to Dumbledore's office; Annie, Baby and Hagrid went to the closet teacher's office to the front door they could find – well it was an emergency right? – Professor Snape.
"Professor!" Annie cried out, making the greasy haired man nearly drop the bowel of steaming potion he had just lifted off the table.
"Miss Dale, you do not scream or scare those in a Potions' lab. 10 points from Gryffindor." Snape said not caring about the embarrassed or the rambling she was going on about, turning his back to her and silencing her with a flick of his wand. "Now go back to your common room, I need to get this to Professor Lupin before the moon rises.
"Hmm?" Annie asked in a questioning voice making him groan that she was still there.
"Because he needs it, that's all you need to know," Snape said refilling the bowl to where it was before what came out was spilt because of her jumping him.
"But Professor," Hagrid's voice said from the door – he was too big to fit in the room properly "There's an emergency. Jack found Pettigrew in my hut, and one of the auror's that were here came to collect him, but he kept trying to let him out of the cage Jack stuffed him in, and he had – well he had the Mark on his arm."
This made Snape pause what he was doing and look up and over his shoulder to Hagrid.
Letting the silence egg Hagrid on, he began to explain what has happened since then (aka the last 5 – 10 minutes) and the grip of the fist Snape was making was getting tighter, and his scowl lower.
"Be that as it may Hagrid, I still need to get this to Professor Lupin first," he said carefully lifting the bowl up.
"But sir," Annie said finally managing to get the silencing charm off herself. "He's already set off after the man with Bunny, Sirius, Hermione, and Harry down the tunnel under the Whomping Willow."
This time when Snape paused he had a hint of fear on his face.
"Potter is with him?" he asked looking to Annie who nodded.
Sighing, he set the bowl down pulled out his wand, set a cool-charm on the bowl and told the three of them to follow him to the Headmaster's office.
"Do not argue with me Miss Dale or I will be taking more points off of you!" he said fiercely when Annie was about to say there wasn't time.
Staying quiet, Annie nodded and they headed out, the bowl with the potion in it being left behind on the table.
o0o
In the air, Jack and Elisa were following the path down to Hogsmeade, they passed the shops, the houses, the people going on their day to day lives, and soon landed on the outer side of the boundary fence to the Shrieking Shack.
Panting, feeling a mix of hot and cold, they set their brooms down and drew out their wands.
"Think we should set up shield charms so the village is protected?" Jack asked his eyes fixed on the building.
"Probably," Elisa said holding out her wand and started casting the spell. "If not to protect the village, it would hopefully keep that man with Pettigrew from getting away."
For the next 30 minutes or so, Elisa and Jack worked together to cast a huge bubble shield around the boundaries of the wooden, bordered-up-windows hut.
They were almost done when four loud 'CRACK!'s were heard signalling people apparating nearby.
Looking over his shoulder Jack saw Amelia Bones, Mad-eye Moody, Tonks, and someone new who looked to be an Indian man but he wasn't sure.
"Have they come out yet, boy?" Moody asked coming over, his wand in his hand and his eye aimed at the hut.
"No, but we're setting up a shield to keep them from escaping," Jack said.
"Also," Elisa said finishing up her side "We have people going in after him so this is the only way he could escape."
"Smart move lass, think ahead and constant vigilance," Moody said giving a rarely seen smile "Always be prepaid to fight to the very end."
Behind him Tonks was silently mocking him, but added some shield spells herself when Amelia ordered it.
"Who is going after this man, may we ask?" the Indian man said calmly, after introducing himself as Kingsly Shaklebolt.
"My 'big brother'," Jack said air quoting the words "He has a way with tunnels so he's leading them. Sirius Black, our friends Hermione Granger and Harry Potter, and Professor Lupin."
"Oh god!" Elisa said her eyes wide in a 'just realised something' expression.
"What's wrong?" Jack asked reaching out a hand but not grabbing her.
"Professor Lupin... is in there with everyone else..." Elisa said trying to make Jack realise what was wrong. "Because of all... this," she said gesturing to everything around her "he didn't take his potion."
Slight fear came to Jack's face and looked to the shack, then to the sun which was starting to go down.
"It's... ok he has his moonband right?" Jack asked himself more than anyone else. " But then, it doesn't work if it's covered..."
"What are you talking about?" Amelia asked having an idea what was wrong, but needed to be sure.
Looking to each other, silently nodding, Jack started explaining about Lupin's furry-little-problem and that a friend-of-his's family in America had invented silver bracelets which Born-Wolves use to - if need-be - keep their human forms at night.
"I asked Professor Lupin how it's working for him and he said it seemed to be helping but it only works if the silver showing and I don't think it was when he went into the tunnel, and with all this excitement, it might slip his mind."
"Wait, wait, wait," Tonks asked before anyone could say anything. "Dumbledore hired a werewolf to be a teacher in a school full of children?" she asked just to be clear.
Jack and Elisa nodded turning to the shack when they think hear something.
"Professor Snape has been making Wolfsbane Potions for him each month, so he would be safe and not go after anyone," Jack said moving forward a little, but was held back by Moody "But he hasn't taken it today."
"Should we get more people here Ma'am?" Kingsly asked Amelia who didn't seem to know what to do.
"No, just be prepared to fight when they come out," she said firmly "Whether it be the Death Eater or Lupin, we shall have to see. But only use disarming attacks, we want everyone in there to be alive at the end of this."
Nodding the grownups hold up their wands as Moody said someone had come out of the tunnel in the lower level of the hut.
