Canis Proditor

Canis Proditor

by

Aloysius

"So, what are our plans for tonight, then?" Sirius asked eagerly as he jumped over the bench to join his friends at the Gryffindor table for breakfast.

Remus looked up from the Transfiguration textbook he was reading and saw the familiar glint of anticipation in Sirius' eyes. He sighed, and returned his gaze to his book, not wanting to start an argument in the Great Hall.

Sirius didn't give him a choice, however, instead elbowing him in the arm and demanding, "What's the matter with you?"

Remus waggled his book under Sirius' nose and reminded him, "There's such a thing as NEWTs, you know - fast approaching?"

Sirius made a derisive noise. "Oh, come on, you're not telling me you'd rather revise than have fun?"

Laying his book carefully next to his plate, Remus turned his full attention to Sirius and said very calmly, "Just because you find everything so easy doesn't mean the rest of us don't have to work to get good grades."

"But you can't work tonight anyway," Sirius countered. "So where's the harm in planning an excursion?"

Remus felt his frustration building, but managed to keep his voice low. "If I spend the whole night gallivanting around the school grounds with you, I'll be too tired to concentrate in McGonagall's mock exam tomorrow," he said. "I was hoping that if I work really hard today, I'll wear myself out and actually manage to get some sleep up in the shack tonight."

Sirius threw his hands up in disgust. "Some people have no sense of adventure," he sighed.

"And some people have an over-developed sense of their own importance," Remus muttered back.

Before Sirius could come up with a rejoinder, James finally spoke up from the other side of the table. "Will the two of you stop bickering?" he said in a bored tone. "You're beginning to get on my nerves."

Sitting next to James, Peter echoed his agreement. "Yeah, it's annoying me too."

At that point, Lily swept up to the table and put her arms around James' neck from behind. "Morning, boys!" she said brightly to the other three, then spoke to James. "I believe you were going to help me with my incantations this morning?"

"So I was," James replied, turning his head to give her a small peck on the lips. "Well, gentlemen," he announced, rising smoothly from his seat, "duty calls!"

Once Lily and James had gone, Sirius rose too, evidently having lost interest in his breakfast. "Come on, Wormtail," he said to Peter, "let's leave Moony here to his books. I'm sure we can manage to have some fun without him."

With that, he strode away from the table, Peter scurrying after him.

Remus watched them go with a pang of mixed annoyance and regret. Even after more than two years, Sirius still didn't understand that their monthly excursions weren't wholly a matter of fun for him. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate his friends' company - on the contrary, he was delighted they had all learned to turn into animals so they could be with him at each full moon - it was just that it was different for them. Their adventures as a dog, a stag and a rat were just that - adventures. The full moon was something to look forward to, something to get excited about. They had no idea what it felt like to suffer involuntary transformations, to have their minds taken over by some kind of beast that lived deep inside them and only wanted to kill and destroy.

Remus would have given anything to be an animagus and not a werewolf, to change on a whim, rather than by painful necessity. He sighed again, and tried to reason that he'd far rather have an arrogant, trouble-seeking Sirius at his side than suffer the lonely self-mutilation of past nights exiled to the Shrieking Shack. Not tonight, though - tonight all he wanted to do was sleep, though he thought it rather unlikely he'd manage it.

Putting all thoughts of the coming evening from his mind, Remus opened his book once more and tried to focus on the theory of Transfiguration.

* * * * *

Sirius stalked out of the Great Hall, ignoring Peter completely and letting his exasperation at Remus build. With exams approaching and the end of school looming on the horizon, the monthly night-time shenanigans of the Marauders were about the only thing Sirius had to look forward to, and he had thought Remus felt the same. He would never suggest that he and the other two transform and go off without Remus - the very reason they confined their trips to once a month was so he could be included - but if Remus wasn't interested in going out... But with James now spending so much time with Lily, Sirius realised he might be left with only Peter for company, and that wouldn't be very much fun at all.

As if he had been lying in wait, which he probably had, Severus Snape suddenly stepped out from behind a pillar and blocked the corridor ahead.

"Had a tiff?" he sneered, his nasal voice insinuating.

"Get out of the way, Snivellus," Sirius snarled. "I'm not in the mood."

But Snape remained where he was. "It must be nearly time for dear Lupin to do his vanishing act again," he mused. "Maybe this time I'll find out where he goes."

"Well, you're running out of time on that," Sirius gloated. "Not much of the year left for you to hatch your master plan and destroy us all."

He had the satisfaction of seeing Snape scowl at this, but his triumph was shortlived.

"Or maybe this time Lupin won't come back at all," Snape suggested. "With Potter otherwise occupied, that would reduce your little fan club to the runt here, and then where will you be?" He bared his teeth menacingly at Peter and chuckled when the smaller boy shifted further behind Sirius' larger frame.

"At least I have friends," Sirius spat back, his hatred of Snape flaring even brighter at the other boy's echoing of his own earlier thoughts.

"I prefer to stand alone, rather than rely on the fawning of others to bolster my self-worth," Snape replied in a lofty tone. Then he spun on his heel and disappeared down the corridor.

"I'm going to ram that superior attitude right down his throat!" Sirius seethed.

"Yeah!" Peter enthused. "Let's figure out a way to get Snape. I bet James would help."

Sirius wasn't so sure. "James is almost as sensible as Remus these days," he muttered, then turned and headed back towards the front doors of the castle, not really caring if Peter followed him or not.

* * * * *

Sirius didn't see Remus for the rest of the day. He spent an unsatisfactory morning skimming stones at the lake, trying but failing to antagonise the giant squid. James reappeared in the afternoon and challenged Sirius to a couple of games of wizard chess, after which they ran through a few wand movements with Peter in preparation for their mock exam the following day. All in all, it was spectacularly boring, which did nothing whatsoever to improve Sirius' mood.

When Remus came back to Gryffindor Tower in the late afternoon to dump his books, Sirius was waiting for him up in their dorm room.

"How was the library?" Sirius asked with heavy sarcasm.

"Don't start, Si," Remus pleaded wearily. "I don't want to fight with you right now."

Something in Remus' voice caught Sirius' attention; he sat up and really looked at his friend. The other boy was very pale and obviously exhausted - in fact, he looked like he usually did after a night as a wolf rather than before.

"Are you sure wearing yourself out was such a good idea?" Sirius asked him, suddenly a bit concerned. "Isn't that just likely to weaken your resistance and make the whole thing worse?"

Remus slumped down onto his bed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't know," he admitted. "I thought it was worth a try. You might be right, though."

"All the more reason for the rest of us to come down and keep you company," Sirius urged. When he saw Remus was about to protest, he forged on. "Or just let me come. We'll stay in the shack and try to get some sleep."

Remus hesitated a moment at this, but then shook his head. "I don't trust you. You'll come up with some hair-brained scheme and drag me out to get in trouble." He smiled as he spoke, but his words still stung. Remus glanced out of the window and stood up. "I'd better go," he said. "It's starting to get dark."

Sirius rose as well. "I'll walk down with you."

They made their way down to the common room and out through the portrait hole. Neither spoke as they walked through the castle, and Sirius felt a tension between them that had never been there before. Remus didn't trust him; it had been said lightly, but Sirius sensed the truth behind the words, and it both angered and upset him. He kept his temper, though, still hoping that Remus might change his mind at the last minute and ask him to come along to the shack later.

Madam Pomfrey met them at the castle's big front doors. Remus walked outside without a backward glance, leaving a dejected Sirius to make his way back to Gryffindor Tower alone.

He walked slowly, not wanting to rejoin the others just yet. Hands in his pockets, he trudged up the stairs, wondering where things had gone wrong. Perhaps it was inevitable that the close bond he shared with his three friends should lessen as they reached the end of their school days and the responsibilities of the outside world beckoned. Sirius didn't know what the future held in store for any of them, but he was unwilling to give up his friends without a fight. James and Remus, and even Peter, were all he had, since he'd run away from home, and he wasn't going to let them drift away from him.

His inner musings were interrupted when he noticed a figure standing at the window up ahead of him. It was Snape, and he was looking intently at something in the grounds outside. Glancing to his left, Sirius saw Remus and Madam Pomfrey making their way towards the edge of the Forbidden Forest, where the Whomping Willow guarded the entrance to the secret passage.

"Oi, Snape!" he called out, hoping to distract the other boy's attention so he didn't see where Remus went.

Snape spun round at his shout, and grinned. "Ah, Black," he sneered. "Just the person - where's Lupin off to in such a hurry?"

"As if I'd tell you!" Sirius scoffed, glad to have a target for his bad mood.

"Oh, I think you will," Snape shot back. He gave a quick glance around as if checking nobody was nearby, then, before Sirius could do anything, Snape whipped out his wand and called out, "Impedimenta!"

Caught completely off guard, Sirius found himself thrown back against the wall, an invisible force preventing him from moving. Snape stalked towards him, his wand trained on Sirius' immobile form.

"Now we'll see what the great Sirius Black is made of, without your minions around to back you up," he said. "I've been reading up on the Cruciatus Curse and I've been wanting to test it out on a living subject for quite some time. But, if you tell me where Lupin's gone, I'll leave my experiment for another time."

Sirius stared at Snape in amazement. He would never have thought Snape would have the guts to jinx him in the middle of the school, but evidently he had underestimated Snape's desire to find out Remus' secret. Sirius wasn't overly worried, though; Snape might be drawn towards the Dark Arts, but he would never perform an Unforgivable Curse while still at Hogwarts, not when it carried the penalty of a life sentence in Azkaban.

A thought suddenly hit Sirius - this was the perfect opportunity to teach Snape a lesson. He feigned fear of Snape's threat and stuttered, "Don't do it, Severus - I'll tell you. There's a secret passage to Hogsmeade under the Whomping Willow - that's where Remus has gone."

"But how does he get past the tree?" Snape demanded.

"There's a knot on the side of the tree and if you prod it with a long stick, it sends the tree to sleep for a few minutes. Then you can get into the passage," Sirius told him.

Snape's face lit up with triumph and, without asking for any more information, he turned and raced off towards the castle doors.

As soon as he was out of sight, the invisible forcefield released Sirius and he dashed off in the opposite direction towards the tower. He found James and Peter in the Gryffindor common room.

"Where've you been, Padfoot?" James asked as he skidded to a halt next to them.

Sirius waved off the question, bursting to tell them how he had tricked Snape. He crouched down next to James, and Peter leaned forwards to listen.

"Snape thinks he's so clever - he just threatened to use the Cruciatus Curse on me so I'd tell him where Remus has gone."

"But that's illegal!" Peter exclaimed, and was immediately shushed by the other two.

"What did you do?" James asked.

Sirius grinned at him. "I told him about the secret passage and how to get past the Whomping Willow. He's heading over there right now."

James' face froze in horror. "You did what?" he hissed.

"It serves him right for sneaking around," Sirius maintained, then chuckled. "He'll certainly get a surprise when he reaches the other end!"

"But Remus could kill him," James pointed out, his tone angry. "I'd better go after him. No, you stay here, Sirius," he added as Sirius made to rise as well. "I think you've done enough already." With that, he hurried away, leaving a stunned Sirius behind.

* * * * *

James raced out of the common room and sped down the stairs towards the front doors, his mind reeling. How could Sirius have been so stupid? Playing tricks on Snape was one thing, but actually putting him in harm's way was quite another. James only hoped he could catch him before he found himself face to face with a werewolf. Skidding round a corner, he ran straight into Professor McGonagall, who was coming in the opposite direction.

"And that's why there's no running in the corridors, Potter!" she exclaimed, but James was already moving past her.

"Sorry, Professor!" he called over his shoulder. "Bit of an emergency!"

He reached the doors moments later, wrenched them open and burst out into the night air. Sprinting towards the Forbidden Forest, he was brought up short when a particularly long willow branch thwacked down onto the ground in front of him. He glanced around wildly and saw a sturdy branch lying a few feet away; Snape must already have made it past the tree.

James grabbed the discarded tool, dodged past a couple more wayward tree limbs and managed to prod the knot on the side of the trunk. The tree immediately drew in its branches and wrapped them around itself, opening up free access to the secret passage.

Without stopping, James drew out his wand, cried, "Lumos!" and followed after Snape. He called out Snape's name several times, hoping the other boy would stop, but to no avail. As the passageway began to slope upwards, James feared he would be too late. However, just as he was beginning to give up hope of catching Snape in time, he came to the end of the path and found Snape wrestling with the trapdoor that led up into the Shrieking Shack.

"Snape, stop!" James cried urgently.

Snape turned to face him, wand out, stopping James in his tracks. "Not this time, Potter," he said. "I'm finally going to find out what you and your friends are up to, and you can't do anything to stop me."

"But you don't understand," James tried again. "Sirius tricked you. If you go through that door, you'll be killed."

"Nice try," Snape chuckled, "but you won't fool me. Black came running to you after I released him and now you're trying to stop me from seeing what's on the other side of this door. Did you really think I'd cave that easily?" He turned back to the trapdoor.

"Snape, listen to me!" James pleaded, but it was too late. Snape threw open the trapdoor and it fell back onto the floor above him with a crash. Immediately, the sound of growling filled the passageway, and James could hear heavy footfalls coming closer. He rushed forwards and joined Snape at the opening, trying to reach to pull the trapdoor shut again before it was too late. But Snape was in the way, holding his glowing wand out in front of him, trying to identify the source of the noise.

As James watched helplessly, two fierce red eyes became visible in the darkness, followed by a long snout and sharp teeth. There was no time to shove Snape back and close the trapdoor, so James did the only thing he could think of. He pointed his wand directly at the werewolf and cried, "Stupefy!"

The beast was forced backwards a few feet, but merely shook its head and surged forwards again.

"Quickly, together!" James shouted, waving his wand in front of Snape's face.

The other boy had been staring through the opening in horror but James' gesture seemed to snap him out of it and they both performed the Stunning Spell at the same time, hurling the werewolf against the wall, where it collapsed in a heap on the floor.

James winced in sympathy for his friend and murmured, "I'm sorry, Remus." Then he pushed Snape roughly aside, grabbed the edge of the trapdoor and slammed it shut above them.

Snape staggered against the passage wall. "Remus?" he spluttered. "That - that thing - is Remus Lupin?"

"Yes," James snapped. "So now you know. Are you happy now?"

"But... but..." Snape was still severely rattled. "How could Dumbledore condone...?"

James took hold of the sleeve of Snape's robes and dragged him bodily back down the passageway.

"Come on," he said impatiently, his anger at Sirius and concern for Remus manifesting itself in tremendous irritation at Snape's slow progress.

At the school end of the passage, James reached out and pressed the knot to calm the tree, but it was not just the Whomping Willow that faced them as they emerged back out into the grounds. Professor McGonagall was hovering outside the radius of the tree, obviously having followed James. She marched straight over to the them.

"Potter! Snape!" she cried. "What on earth is going on?"

This was the moment Snape chose to come to his senses. He pushed past James and declared, "Potter, Black and Lupin have just tried to kill me!"

James immediately shot back, "Don't be ridiculous! I saved your life!"

Snape tried a different line of protest. "There's a werewolf at the end of that secret passage!" he exclaimed.

"Which is precisely why it is supposed to be secret," Professor McGonagall informed him in clipped tones. "Were either of you bitten?"

"No, Professor," James replied, "but we had to Stun Remus to get away."

"I shall let Madam Pomfrey know, Potter," she said. "Don't worry; I'm sure he'll be fine in the morning."

"Fine?" Snape spluttered. "It ought to be destroyed! It's in league with Sirius Black! It tried to kill me!"

"Oh, do be quiet, Snape," McGonagall ordered. "Thanks to Potter, you seem to have escaped unscathed. However, I do think the headmaster needs to hear about this. Follow me."

She led them swiftly back up to the castle and from there to the door that led up to Dumbledore's office. She whispered the password and the door swung open, revealing a spiral staircase that ended in another door. A sharp rap from Professor McGonagall elicited a call of "Come in!" from the other side and they all trooped into Dumbledore's office.

The man himself looked up from his desk, his brow furrowing when he saw who had entered. "What can I do for you, Professor McGonagall?" he asked, his voice light and enquiring.

"I caught these two emerging from beneath the Whomping Willow," she informed him. "Snape alleges that Potter here, along with Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, tried to kill him, but I have not yet determined if this is true. Lupin apparently came off the worst in the confrontation."

"Is he alright?" Dumbledore asked softly.

"I believe so," McGonagall replied. "He was merely Stunned, but I shall go and inform Madam Pomfrey."

"Thank you, Minerva," Dumbledore said. "Once you have done that, perhaps you could ask Sirius Black to join us at his earliest convenience."

Professor McGonagall nodded and left the room.

Dumbledore had thus far completely ignored Snape and James, but now he turned his attention to them. "Mr Snape, would you like to explain?"

James thought the very politeness of the question enforced the authority behind it, but Snape did not seem the slightest bit intimidated.

"They lured me into the secret passage under the tree, knowing full well there was a werewolf at the other end. They were trying to kill me!" he said yet again.

"And yet here you stand, alive and well," Dumbledore pointed out calmly.

Snape bristled. "That's only because Potter must have chickened out at the last minute and decided to stop me."

Dumbledore looked at James. "I assume you have a different version of events, Mr Potter?"

"Yes, Professor," James confirmed. He considered for a moment what he should say, and decided to stick as close to the truth as he could, since he was certain Dumbledore would be able to tell if he was lying. "Snape has been trying to find out where Remus goes every month for years. Tonight he threatened Sirius with the Cruciatus Curse" - Snape opened his mouth to interrupt but Dumbledore quelled him with a look - "so Sirius told him how to get past the Whomping Willow. Sirius came straight to me and told me what had happened, so I followed Snape to stop him before he reached the shack." All of that was essentially true; the blame lay in the interpretation, which Dumbledore evidently realised.

"So you maintain that Mr Snape brought the whole thing upon himself?" he asked.

James suddenly felt very uncomfortable. "Well, er, yes," he said.

"I understand your desire to protect your friend," Dumbledore said, "but I do not believe Sirius Black is as innocent in this as you would make out." He turned back to Snape and his next words were spoken very seriously. "Is it true that you threatened Black with an illegal curse?"

For a moment, Snape looked as though he was going to deny it, but Dumbledore's steely gaze wore him down.

"Yes," he muttered, looking at the ground, but then his head snapped back up and he continued hurriedly, "but I wouldn't have used it - I don't even know how! Black must have known that, so he took the opportunity to trick me into the passage. And Lupin was waiting when I got to the other end."

"I am quite certain," Dumbledore said firmly, "that Remus Lupin is entirely blameless in all this."

Snape once again refused to give up his tirade. "Blameless? That blood-crazed monster? He shouldn't be allowed anywhere near this school, and when everyone hears about this, I'm quite certain you'll be forced to expel him!"

"Severus Snape!" Dumbledore cried, rising from behind his desk and towering over the two of them. "You will not be telling anyone what you have seen tonight. Whilst he is at this school, Remus Lupin is under my protection and I will not have you ruining his chance to get a decent education. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Professor," Snape murmured, suddenly very subdued.

James cheered inwardly at Dumbledore's defence of Remus, and was gratified to see Snape finally put in his place. Dumbledore evidently wasn't quite satisfied, however.

"Do you swear you will not reveal what you now know about Remus Lupin?" he asked.

Snape glared back at him, but said again, "Yes, Professor."

At that moment, there was a knock at the door.

"That will be Black," Dumbledore said. "Snape, you may go now. Potter, stay where you are."

Snape made his way to the door and opened it to reveal Sirius standing on the other side. They looked daggers at each other, but Dumbledore quickly circumvented possible trouble.

"Come in, Black," he called, genially. "Shut the door on your way out, Snape."

Sirius moved up next to James, standing ramrod straight and returning Dumbledore's gaze levelly.

"Am I to understand," Dumbledore began, "that you sent Severus Snape past the Whomping Willow to face a fully grown werewolf alone and unprepared?"

"Yes, sir," Sirius said clearly.

James was impressed that Sirius made no attempt to shy away from admitting his actions, but was concerned that perhaps such open honesty betrayed a continuing lack of remorse.

Dumbledore must have come to the same conclusion, as he continued, "You do not consider yourself to be at fault?"

"No, sir," Sirius replied. "Under the circumstances, I believe I had no choice but to answer Snape's questions."

"Ah, the Cruciatus Curse defence," Dumbledore surmised. "But surely you did not think Mr Snape would actually perform it on you?"

Sirius remained completely calm. "Given Snape's affinity with the Dark Arts, and his insatiable curiosity regarding Remus, I had no way of knowing what he would do."

"And yet," Dumbledore continued, perfectly reasonably, "rather than simply reveal Lupin's secret, you chose to give Snape only partial information that led him into danger."

This time, Sirius said nothing, and James knew he was beaten. His breath caught in his throat as he considered what punishment Dumbledore might mete out.

But Dumbledore had one last question. "Can you confirm that Mr Potter and Mr Lupin had no knowledge of you giving Snape the information before you did so?" he asked Sirius.

"Absolutely, Professor," Sirius replied immediately, his composure cracked for the first time, "Remus has no idea what I did, and James was horrified when I told him and went straight after Snape to stop him."

"As well he should," Dumbledore commented. "Well, Black, Mr Potter here has saved you from criminal investigation by his actions. I have sworn Severus to secrecy in order to protect Remus' secret, so nobody else need know about this incident." James saw the shock on Sirius' face and knew he hadn't been expecting that. "However," Dumbledore added sternly, "such reckless behaviour as yours cannot go unpunished. I should have you expelled, but I sense that would prove little hardship to you. So, Mr Black, you will stay at Hogwarts, you will work hard, you will do well in your exams, and you will go out and make something of yourself in the world. In addition, you will be confined to Gryffindor Tower for the remainder of the year, excepting wherever you need to go for your lessons and meals. And don't think," he continued with a sharp look at James, "that invisibility cloaks or secret passages will help you evade this punishment. I too have ways of telling where people are in the castle. Now," he concluded, "I think perhaps it is time for the enmity between yourselves and Severus Snape to end."

"Tell him that," Sirius muttered darkly.

"Oh, I shall, Mr Black," came Dumbledore's reply, "I shall. You are both dismissed."

As they turned and went to the door, James saw that Sirius' face was like thunder, but all he felt was a huge surge of relief, accompanied by the acknowledgement that the whole thing could have been so very much worse.

* * * * *

The first rays of the sun found their way through the chinks in the boarded up windows of the Shrieking Shack, and Remus awoke to pain. The familiar sting of the bites and scratches he had inflicted upon himself during the night were accompanied by a deep ache in his chest that flared into a sharp pain when he shifted position. Remus lay huddled on the floor for a moment, trying to remember what had happened. An image of two frightened face surfaced in his mind - James had been there, in human form, and accompanied by Severus Snape. And echo of the hunger he had felt at their appearance surged through him, turning his stomach, and he had to fight to keep from retching. But surely he hadn't hurt them? Relief washed over him as he remembered the bolts of red light that had flown from their wands and knocked him unconscious. It was no wonder he was sore, but at least it meant he hadn't done any damage.

Gathering his scattered wits, Remus pushed himself slowly into a sitting position and reached for where his robes lay next to him. He struggled into them and had just finished dressing when he heard footsteps approaching from below.

"Remus?" Madam Pomfrey's voice floated up from just under the trapdoor.

"It's okay," he called, and a moment later her smiling face was looking up at him from the hole in the floor.

"Glad to see you're up and about," she said brightly. "Potter was worried he might have done you some permanent damage."

Remus pulled down his robes to reveal three livid red marks surrounded by extensive bruising on his chest.

"Dear me!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed. "That does look nasty! Don't worry, I'll have you fixed up in a jiffy once we get back to the castle."

Remus climbed gingerly down into the secret passageway and followed Madam Pomfrey back towards Hogwarts.

"What were James and Severus doing down here last night?" he asked.

"Well," she replied. "I don't know all the details, but as I understand it, Sirius Black told Snape how to get past the tree and when Potter found out, he followed Snape to stop him before he reached the shack. The headmaster has covered the whole thing up, though - if word gets out about there being a werewolf at the school, there'll be an uproar and no mistake."

Remus stopped in his tracks as his blood ran cold. He hadn't really considered the ramifications before, but Madam Pomfrey's words brought his own thoughts into focus. If people found out he was a werewolf, he'd be chucked out for sure, and Dumbledore was relying on Snape to keep the secret?

Madam Pomfrey must have realised he was no longer following her as she turned round to see where he was.

"Come along, Remus," she said. "Professor Dumbledore has it all firmly under control - there's no need for you to worry."

But Remus did worry; he had worried about his secret being found out since the very first day he'd arrived at Hogwarts. And to have survived seven years, only to have his chances of graduating nearly ruined just before his final exams - it didn't bear thinking about. Then his brain suddenly registered something else Madam Pomfrey had said - Sirius had told Snape how to get past the tree. There was no way Sirius would have done that unless he had wanted Snape to get through to the shack. Anger flared in Remus' mind; he knew the strength of Sirius' hatred of Snape, but he couldn't believe Sirius would resort to putting Snape in danger, not to mention jeopardising Remus' place at the school.

Sirius had been getting more and more reckless of late. While Remus had been focusing on his work and James was spending more and more time with Lily, Sirius had been often at a loose end and had taken to actively seeking out trouble. Remus now wondered if he should have been paying more attention to his friend's behaviour, but, if that was Sirius' intention with this stunt, he'd taken things way too far.

They had reached the castle; Madam Pomfrey turned to one of the staircases and said, "Right then, up to the hospital wing with you."

But Remus' anger had dulled the pain, and he had something else to do.

"Not yet," he said, causing Madam Pomfrey to stare at him in surprise. "I want Sirius to see what he's done."

Madam Pomfrey hesitated for a moment, then relented in the face of Remus' determination. "Very well, if you insist," she said, but then added sternly, "I shall expect you later, once you've made your point."

Remus turned his steps towards Gryffindor Tower, but, by the time he reached the portrait concealing the entrance to the common room, he was beginning to regret his decision not to go straight to the hospital wing. The familiar post-transformation exhaustion had set in and every part of him ached. But it was too late to turn back now and he was still determined to confront Sirius before he lost momentum.

Judging by the horrified reactions of the other students as he entered the common room, Remus gathered he must look at least as bad as he felt. James was at his side in seconds, Peter close behind.

"Remus!" James exclaimed, his face etched with concern. "I'm so sorry about last night. You look dreadful - shouldn't you be - ?"

"Where - is - he?" Remus interrupted, each word with all the force of his remaining strength behind it.

James didn't need to ask who he meant. "Upstairs," he replied simply, then stepped aside to let Remus past.

Remus gathered himself together and marched across the common room to the stairs. When he reached the dormitory, he found Sirius stretched out on his bed, hands beneath his head, staring at the ceiling. At his entrance, Sirius sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed to the floor. He looked at Remus for a long moment, obviously taking in the other boy's battered appearance, but saying nothing. Remus looked right back at Sirius, and saw in his eyes a mixture of anger, hurt and confusion that matched his own swirling emotions. Suddenly, Remus didn't think he had the energy for a fight.

He opened his mouth and all that came out was, "Why?"

Sirius broke eye contact, dropping his gaze to the floor. "He had it coming," he muttered darkly.

"You really wanted him to die?" Remus said incredulously, but Sirius only shrugged, still avoiding eye contact. "Snape's been trying to get us expelled for years," Remus carried on, "and the closest he's ever come to succeeding was last night. What do you think would have happened if Dumbledore hadn't intervened, Si?" He was warming up to his subject now, the anger rekindled by Sirius' total lack of response. "But that's not the worst part - I could have really hurt James; did you think of that?"

At this, Sirius' head snapped up, his eyes blazing. "He wasn't supposed to get involved!" he protested hotly.

"Thank god he did, though!" Remus countered. "It could have been so much worse but, thanks to James, the only person who ended up getting hurt was me." He pulled his robes open enough to reveal the angry marks from the Stunning Spells. "Was this what you wanted, Si?"

Sirius looked horrified. "Of course not! I didn't think, okay? I was mad at you for not wanting me at the shack, and Snape just turned up and I saw an opportunity to get back at him for all his sneaking around. I'm sorry - I never meant for you to get hurt."

The apology was what Remus had been waiting for, but he still had a point to make. "You just meant to make me a murderer, is that it?" he asked. "Never mind being expelled, if I'd killed Snape last night, we could both have ended up in Azkaban."

At the thought of what could have happened, a wave of dizziness washed over Remus and he swayed, clutching one of the bedposts for support. Sirius leapt to his feet, but Remus waved him off.

"I didn't think it through," Sirius repeated. "I was angry and I just reacted. I'm really sorry, Remus. Let me take you to the hospital wing."

The last of his energy gone, Remus relented and allowed Sirius to escort him out of the dormitory. As they made their way down the stairs, Sirius asked quietly, "Are we okay?"

At that moment, Remus really wasn't sure, and he didn't want to think about it right then.

He met Sirius' hopeful eyes and simply said, "Ask me tomorrow."

* * * * *

Professor McGonagall was just walking past the entrance to the Gryffindor common room when the portrait swung open and two students climbed out. She recognised them immediately as Sirius Black and Remus Lupin.

"Black!" she called out, and his head shot up in alarm, a familiar guilty expression plastered across his face. "Aren't you supposed to be confined to the tower?"

His eyes bored into her, begging for leniency.

"Please, Professor," he requested softly. "Let me just take Remus up to Madam Pomfrey. I'll come straight back, I promise."

Professor McGonagall looked at the two boys. She sensed some tension between them, and the hint of desperation in Black's voice suggested it was important he accompany Lupin to the hospital wing. Besides, Lupin looked as though he was about to drop and she didn't have time to take him herself.

"Very well," she said. "But mind I don't catch you breaking Dumbledore's decree again, or there'll be hell to pay. And I'll expect both of you to ace the mock exam in my class this afternoon."

"Yes, Professor," Black replied dutifully, and the two boys moved off.

Professor McGonagall watched them go. They were good for each other, those two, she thought. Black gave Lupin someone to lean on, both literally and figuratively, and he certainly needed such a friend to help him deal with his affliction. And, despite the evidence of the previous night, Lupin usually exerted a good influence over Black, preventing him from getting into too much trouble. Their friendship had evidently received a severe blow as a result of Black's irresponsible actions, but Professor McGonagall hoped and trusted it would heal itself before too long.

She had a feeling they would all need as many friends as they could find in the times ahead.

THE END