The Marauder Chronicles

Part Seven: The Rescue

"It is not always easy to love thy enemies."

The last Friday in December before the Christmas holidays was nothing short of amazing. Apart from being the last Friday of 1976 that they were at Hogwarts, it was also the last Hogsmeade weekend. Students already had difficulty focusing on homework with the holidays coming so soon, but then another distraction emerged that morning.

The four Marauders entered the Great Hall for breakfast, as usual, accompanied by Liz Banks, Jade Yang, and, of course, Lily Evans, who was simply glowing; why, no one knew. All seven of them sat down at their usual spot at the Gryffindor table, chatting nonstop about Christmas and the weekend. But each one had something different on his or her mind, though they each seemed to be talking about the same thing. Remus and Sirius were secretly panicking over what to do with Snape. If he somehow did succeed, James would kill Snape then himself. There was no doubt in their minds. James was thinking about Lily, as she was of him. Peter was feeling sorry for himself; he had to go home to his family, all of them: his cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents, and other people he hated. Liz was also thinking about the potion that Snape was planning on brewing, but Jade was thinking of something else. But that's for another chapter.

Lily actually wasn't listening to anything anyone was saying but was staring at the gold spoon in front of her. It was the same spoon as yesterday, but something was different about it. It was something she couldn't put her finger on, yet it was most definitely different. She picked it up and held it in front of her. She continued to stare at it, but nothing seemed to happen. She cocked her head slightly to the left, and the spoon bent left. She straitened up and looked at the spoon in amazement. She moved her head to the right and the spoon bent right. She seemed to have control over the movement of the spoon, but she had no idea how she was able to do so. She gripped it tightly and pulled it closer to her. Then she tried something different other than just tilting her head. She wanted to spiral the spoon around, so that it would twist the handle. She wondered how to do that but did not need to. As soon as she decided that she wanted to spiral the spoon, it did so.

Slowly, the head of the spoon began to spin counter-clockwise so that the handle began to twist like a noodle. It was a surreal experience; she heard nothing going on around her, and everything behind the spoon was blurry. A smile spread across her face as she spun the spoon in the other direction. This is really fun, she thought as she let out a giggle loud enough to get the other's attention. She didn't notice them staring at her.

Sirius had his mouth wide open. A fork full of eggs was inches from his mouth; they remained there as he stared at Lily. The entire Gryffindor table slowly turned to see Lily swirl the spoon around and around. James turned to look at her. "Lily," he said, but she held the spoon as she had before, oblivious to all else.

Then she decided she needed to try something new. She let go of it. To her surprise, it suspended itself in midair.

"How are you doing that?" Jade asked her.

"I don't know," she answered, still focused on the levitating utensil. She stopped spiraling it and began spinning it in circles first slowly then faster until it became a solid, spherical, gold apparatus. She moved it closer to her. She had total control over it. She cupped her hands and put them under the rapidly spinning spoon.

By this time, the entire school, including the staff table, had their attention on Lily. How am I doing this? she wondered. She didn't even think about it, she just did it. It was as easy as breathing.

No one made a sound in the Great Hall. But since she couldn't hear anyone anyway, she didn't notice. She kept staring at the circular gold blur, spinning faster each second, when Liz began talking to her from across the table.

"Your eyes," she said in a shocked tone. The rest of them tried to get a glance at them but had to go around the table to see for themselves. Her eyes did look different; they had a misty glow to them.

"That's a bit creepy," Sirius said. It was the first time he had spoken.

"Can you turn it the other way?" James asked curiously, clearly not thinking it was creepy but rather cool.

"Yes," she said with an excited smile. And the spoon suddenly stopped and started to spin the other way, first slowly then getting faster by the second until it was a golden blur.

"That is amazing, Lily," James said.

Remus got up and sat on the other side of her putting his hand over the spinning spoon. "I can feel the wind it's putting off," he said with awe.

"Like a propeller," Lily said, looking at him.

"A what?" he asked confused.

"Never mind," she said quickly. Sirius moved closer to feel the wind too, as did Liz and Jade.

"Wow!" they said. Funny how simple things controlled by the magical mind can easily entertain the brightest students in the school.

"Hey," James interrupted, "you've all had your chances! Let me try." The others moved their hands out of the way to let him have a go. But something completely different happened for him.

He placed his right hand over her cupped ones holding the levitating and rapidly gyrating spoon, but he did not feel air coming off the top. The moment his hand was in position a bright, yellow light erupted, turning the spoon into a beautiful golden sphere; looking almost like a shimmering golden globe but was absent of the look of solidity.

"What did you do?" Lily turned and asked him.

"Nothing. I touched the top," he said, astounded by the sight in front of him.

"Take your hand off," she commanded. He tried to remove his hand, but he couldn't.

"I can't," he said through gritted teeth.

"This is very weird," she said looking closer at the golden orb glowing inside their three hands. "Put your other hand over it, and see what happens," she said.

James did; the light got brighter and warm inside but for only a few seconds. Then the light expanded and James's hands flew off.

A spoon no longer revolved in Lily's hands. Instead, a small blue bird lay quiet and warm, breathing gently in the groove made by her two cupped hands. The bird raised its tiny head, and looked in her eyes.

"Oh my goodness," she said lightly, stroking his small head and smiling. James drew nearer to look; he wasn't the only one. Professors McGonagall, Wicks, Flitwick, and Dumbledore all came over and stood across from her, astonished looks on their faces. Slytherins and Ravenclaws could be seen standing on their chairs and looking over at the Gryffindor table. The Hufflepuffs behind them all got up and crowded around Lily and James, who were the obvious center of attention.

"James," Dumbledore said, "what happened?" James had never seen him look so puzzled before.

"I don't know, sir," he answered him, then looking back at Lily and the small bird in her hand. The bird spread his small wings and flew off, circling the Great Hall like the owls did every morning.

"Miss Evans," McGonagall said, "try it again."

Lily picked up a spoon, as she had done before, and placed it her hand. She stared and thought of spinning it. And, like it did before, the spoon started rotating slowly then got faster until it too was a gold blur.

"Mr. Potter," she said to him, "do what you did before."

As instructed, James placed both of his hands over hers to hold the revolving spoon. A golden orb formed and bright golden beams shot out. This time, however, probably because he didn't put one hand on at a time, a bird shot out and flew along side the other. This one was red.

"Amazing," Dumbledore said as the morning bell rang loudly through the hall. "Miss Evans, what is your first class today?"

"Arithmancy," she answered, a little curious as to why he asked, but she didn't have to wait long.

"Why don't you come up to my office and discuss this newly acquired skill," he said with a warm smile.

"What about me?" James asked trying very hard to get out of Divination.

"Sorry James, but you will need to go to class. If we need your expertise, you will be notified." He went over to where Lily was sitting and graciously gave her his hand to help her up. She smirked sinisterly at James as she rose and walked with Dumbledore out of the Great Hall.

"She gets to miss class!" James said to his friends. "She gets to miss class while we have to go to the psycho woman!" He still sat there in awe watching everyone else go to class.

"James, just get up," Remus said, pulling him up by the back of his robes.

"You don't want her to leave you for a few hours," Sirius said, not faked out for a second by his behavior. "She'll be back. Let's go to Divination."

"Miss Evans," Dumbledore said once they entered his office, "please sit down," He pointed to a chair near his desk. She sat and he sat across from her.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked, nervously twisting her hands in her lap. She had never been in a teacher's office before, except back in September with Professor McGonagall.

"No, nothing at all," he reassured her. "It's simply that I have never seen any young witch or wizard have so much control over magic without the use of a wand. Is this the first time you have done this kind of magic?"

"Yes," she said. "I picked up the spoon, stared at it, and it started to twist and whirl. I have no idea how I did it."

Dumbledore folded his hands on his desk. "You have always been one of Hogwarts's best students, you do know that?" he asked kindly.

She smiled coyly, which meant 'yes' but without saying it. "Do you know why I can do it?" she asked.

"Has anything happened to you since yesterday morning and today which might have affected you?"

"What do you mean?" she asked. She did know, however, what he was talking about.

"An emotional trigger such as losing a friend or family member. Maybe not so traumatic. Perhaps happiness..." he said under his breath, his blue eyes sparkling.

Lily could feel the temperature rising in her cheeks; she smiled shyly. But she remained silent; she intended on keeping it to herself.

Dumbledore chuckled. She could tell he knew, but he was kind enough not to mention it to anyone. "Not very many people have that, Miss Evans. Keep that in mind," he said, losing the laughter and substituting it with seriousness. "Love can bring you great power, as you have demonstrated, but also great pain, not just to you, but to the object of your love. Never forget that." And she didn't. She would always remember those words of wisdom. She carried them with her forever. "Now," he said again, having gotten the lecture out of the way, "let's see what kind of great magic you can do."
* * * * *

"Nice of Trelawney to lay off of me before the Christmas holidays," Sirius said as they were descending the long staircases back to the Great Hall. "Imagine: 'When Jupiter and Venus form a line, it means that you're going to choke on your Yorkshire pudding," Sirius said in a very good impression of Trelawney's airy voice. "The woman is a nightmare."

"Tomorrow's the last night of '76 that we risk our lives and the lives of others," Remus said thoughtfully.

"We are going out, aren't we?" Peter asked.

"I don't see why not," Sirius said. "We should try to go deeper into the forest, as no one important is visiting the village tomorrow night, at least I don't think so."

"I think the teachers will be going to the village," Peter said. "Maybe they'll discuss students."

"I never really cared for teacher gossip," Remus replied.

"Yeah," Sirius agreed. "It's just boring gibber jabber about Susie Smarty, who's going where, and how thankful they all are that we're out of their hair for two weeks."

"James, what do you think about tomorrow?" But James didn't respond right away, and when he did it, wasn't about the following night.

"How do you think she did that with the spoon?" he asked them, a puzzled look all over his face. "I mean, she just picked it up and," he did a rotating hand motion. "And then the bird thing. How did that happen?"

"You didn't listen to anything that Trelawney or the rest of us said, did you?" Remus asked him.

"I don't get it," he replied, completely ignoring what Remus said. "How can anyone have that much control with out a wand?"

"James," Sirius said, "James just relax. I'm sure that if she knows how she is doing this, then she'll tell you. But she might not know how, so just relax."

"Yeah but it was so amazing," he said with a dazzled look of thoughtfulness.

"Did you tell her last night, James?" Remus asked, curious as to whether or not he went through with it.

"Yes," he said, looking at the rest of them with question and concern. "Yes I did, but she won't tell a soul. I know she won't."

"I know she won't either," Sirius told them. "She's very trustworthy. James, I think you did the right thing."

"I know I did," he smiled pleasantly. "I was actually surprised with how well she took it, you know? I thought she would've rolled her eyes the entire time telling me how horrible I behaved, but I think she liked it."

"What do you mean?" Remus asked.

"I showed her."

"In the common room? A bit risky isn't it?"

"Well worth it, Remus. It was well worth it."

When they entered the Great Hall, James noticed that Lily wasn't there. Perhaps she was still with Dumbledore learning how to master her gift. Liz and Jade were though, giggling at the moment. They stopped suddenly when James and Sirius came and sat next to them.

"What's so funny?" James asked.

"Nothing," Jade responded as if it was a totally random question to ask. But she started to giggle again when Liz looked at her and winked.

"Girls," Sirius said to James, who nodded.

"Hello there," Lily said loudly as she came almost running to them with a broad smile. "Hello my love," she said to James as she came behind him. She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek just before rushing over to Liz and Jade.

"What did you do with Dumbledore, Lily?" James asked.

"Would you rather hear about it, or would you like me to show you what I can do?"

"Let's see," James said with Liz and Jade nodding in agreement.

She looked around the room first, then stood up. "You see that hat over there?" she said to them pointing to a hat on the Slytherin table.

"Yeah," they all said.

"Watch and learn." She put out her right hand and summoned the hat over to her, which it did in a heartbeat. Then, before they could say anything, she laid it in her hand, and instantly the hat flew over to its original place of residence.

"How did you do that?" Jade asked. Instead of saying anything, she sat down and put her hand out; the peppershaker flew into her hand.

"Lily," James said, "tell us how you did that."

She shook her head saying, "Magicians never reveal their secrets."

"What?" Sirius asked. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not going to reveal my secrets, Sirius, that's what I mean," she said smartly, looking very pleased with herself. James leaned over, put his arm around her waist, and whispered in her ear.

"Are you going to tell me later?"

She turned to face him, pulled him closer and kissed him. "No," she said sensually, her lips just centimeters away from his. "No, I'm not going to tell you."

"Why not?" he whispered quietly. "I thought we don't keep secrets from each other. Remember what you said about friends and lovers?" He smiled slightly and kissed her ever so gently.

"I have a request," Sirius said abruptly. Lily and James slowly looked towards him. "It's not that I don't think you two are great together. It's just that I want to eat my lunch, and I can't with you two snogging."

"Look the other way then," James said to him, then faced Lily again.

Sirius looked at Remus with horror. Remus looked back at him with desperation. They had to do something about Snape, but what?

"What are we going to do?" Remus mouthed to Sirius.

"I don't know," he mouthed back, shaking his head slightly.
* * * * *

Saturday morning came rather quickly as the Hogsmeade weekend began. Most students from years three and up journeyed down to the village for some Christmas shopping and some good, clean fun with friends.

It was also going to be a full moon that night, one that would be the most memorable of all. Remus was glad that he wouldn't be a werewolf for Christmas, but he was a little disappointed that he and his friends would only have one night of exploring instead of a few like it usually was. But Hogsmeade helped to ease his mind a bit. The butterbeer and the curvy Madam Rosmerta took his mind off of everything.

Lily was glad she was traveling to Bermuda for Christmas but not too thrilled that her sister would also be joining her. She stopped herself many times when talking about her; she didn't want to say anything out of place. They all knew that one day she would let something slip.

James and Sirius were glad that they lived on the same street. When their parents would start nagging them about the trouble they get into, they could both escape and talk to each other.

Near the afternoon on Saturday, the seven friends started to disperse. Remus went back to the castle to get some sleep (he would be up all night), Liz and Jade went for a walk through the village, giggling and sniggering about some secret, and James and Lily went somewhere where they could be alone. The destination was not disclosed, leaving Sirius and Peter by themselves.

They both decided to go over and talk to a group of lively girls when something else interested them far more. Severus Snape and Douglas Lacy were walking north towards some shops on the other side of the village. They were so keen on getting to their location that neither one of them noticed Peter and Sirius.

Peter made a quick glance at Sirius, who nodded. They followed Snape. They had only walked a few paces when Snape started to turn around. Sirius shoved Peter into an alleyway just before Snape went full circle. He didn't see them.

"That was close," Peter said, looking around the corner to see Snape's back. "Should we keep following him?" he asked.

"Yes. I would like to know where he is going," he mumbled. "I'm going to transform and follow behind him; see what shop he goes into. Watch me. I want you to transform and follow behind me, but not too close or it will look suspicious, got it?"

"Got it," he said, and the next second he was Wormtail. Sirius transformed just after him.

Looking like a friendly stray, Padfoot trotted out of the alleyway and began following Snape. It was very cold, he thought. The snow on his feet wasn't the greatest feeling in the world. He looked behind him to see a rat twenty feet behind him, scampering under newspapers and trashcans.

Snape kept walking, looking behind him every once in a while to make sure no one was tailing him. Then he slipped into a floral shop which only sparked Padfoot's interest. He went across the street and sat down, signaling for Wormtail to enter the shop.

Wormtail slipped in through the crack in the door and ran along the wall. He hid under a table on the far side of the shop and listened very closely to what Snape asked the clerk.

"I need three red tulips and one red rose," Snape told the clerk. Three red tulips and one red rose, Wormtail thought, locking it tight into his memory.

"That'll be 4 Knuts," the clerk said, giving Snape his order. Snape gave him the money and put the flowers gently inside his cloak pocket before leaving. Wormtail scurried back along the wall and out of the shop, continuing to follow Snape.

Once out, he looked across the street and saw that Padfoot was no longer just sitting but was in hot pursuit of Snape's trail. Snape still looked a little dodgy, eyeing people suspiciously as they walked by.

Padfoot and Wormtail continued to follow Snape toward the far edge of the village where he went into a potions shop. Things were starting head in the direction that Sirius thought they were going to go. This was just too important to miss, he thought. He went into another alleyway, transformed back into his human form, and entered the shop just after Snape. Sirius went quietly to the back of the shop and looked at some potion ingredients along the wall; Snape didn't notice him.

"I need fourteen lacewing flies," Snape said to the grungy looking fellow behind the counter and taking out a list, "and three newts eyes. Along with wolfsbane and sleeping drought. Just the basic stuff, not too strong."

Sirius was having great difficulty restraining himself. He wanted nothing more than to deck him but thought better of it. He could hear Snape putting his materials in his cloak and taking out his money pouch to pay the man behind the counter. Shortly after, he left the shop, the bell ringing as he pushed the door open.

Sirius had heard enough. Snape was planning on making the potion, and he was going to do it shortly. He saw Peter was standing outside the shop looking in on him. Sirius left and started to walk with Peter back towards Hogwarts.

"He bought three red tulips and one red rose, Sirius. What does that mean?" Peter inquired. Sirius looked forward not saying a word. What was he going to do, and how was he going to do it without getting caught in the process?

"Sirius," Peter asked again, "what is all of this about?"

"Snape is trying to--" only he didn't want to say what. "He's snooping around, Peter. Trying to interfere in our...plans."

"What are we going to do?" Peter asked. Sirius thought silently for a while as they walked back towards Hogwarts. He had to tell Lupin while he still could. That's when it hit him. Lupin.

"We need to tell Snape how to get into the Whomping Willow," Sirius said abruptly. Peter looked shocked.

"What? Are you crazy?" he asked.

"C'mon Peter," Sirius said in an innocent tone. "He's been trying to find out what we've been up to for a long time now. It's only a joke." But Peter didn't look convinced.

"Remus would kill him," Peter said.

"And who would that harm? Look Peter, I for one am tired of his always being there and prying into our lives. Lets just tell him without telling him how to get into the Willow, alright?" He couldn't tell him the truth. It was enough that he, Remus, and Liz knew. Peter didn't need to know.

"Fine," he said. "How are we going to pull it off?"

"Well, he's going into the Three Broomsticks," he said, pointing to Snape opening the door, "so we can have a conversation at the table in the back. Follow my lead."

Peter and Sirius went into the Three Broomsticks, knowing full well that Snape and Douglas were both there yet they did not look for them. They wanted to make sure he didn't suspect anything. Sirius and Peter automatically went to the table in the far corner, passing an unaware Snape who was ordering at the bar.

"Alright," Sirius said quietly to Peter as they sat down at their table, "try to look suspicious and improvise."

Peter leaned in closer to Sirius and started whispering nonsense which seemed to work rather well. In the reflection of a glass Sirius saw Snape and Lacy sat at the table in ear range.

"Peter," Sirius said in a soft tone he knew Snape would be able to hear, "we have to go out tonight and come back here. No one can know."

He saw Snape signal Douglas to be quiet; they were honing in on their conversation.

"How are we all supposed to get out of the castle and into the village without being seen?" Peter asked.

"I know how to get out of the castle, Peter. You cannot tell a soul."

"I won't, I promise," he said leaning closer to Sirius.

"The Whomping Willow. That's how to get out." In the reflection, Sirius could see an evil grin passing over Snape's face.

"But the Willow's branches, how do I get past them?"

"You see, Peter, that is the best part," he said, smiling sinisterly. "I just found out today. There's a knot on the side of the tree, clearly visible. All you have to do is to take a long stick, prod it, and the branches stop moving. Then go to the opening in mouth of the tree and follow the tunnel."

"That's all?" he asked.

"It's as simple as that. No one has gone down there before. I need for you to get there at nine o'clock. Make sure that it's clear before the rest of us get there."

"Who else is going, Sirius?"

"Oh you know. Remus and the rest of the gang. We'll be living large. But be very careful; no one is to know."

"Understood," Peter said, winking to him.

Sirius saw Snape and Lacy get up and exit the Three Broomsticks very silently.

"Mission accomplished," Sirius said, winking maliciously to a very satisfied Peter.
* * * * *

Remus had slept for quite a while. He awoke at eight in the evening, saw that no one else was in the dorm room, and headed down to the common room. It looked as though most of the Gryffindors were down in the Great Hall having dinner because not many were inside Gryffindor tower. Those who were there were packing for the journey home the next day.

He decided to go down for a quick bite, very quick, then head out with Professor McGonagall to the Whomping Willow. The full moon would not come over the rise tonight until nine, so he had very little time.

Once in the Hall, he noticed that Sirius and James were discussing something or other, and Peter was listening quietly. He went over and sat next to Peter, across from the other two, who as it turned out, were planning their vacation and the nasty tricks they were going to play on the neighbors.

"Good morning sunshine," Sirius said to him. "Sleep well?"

"Very well, thank you. I feel like I could take on the world," he responded.

"You know of course, Remus," James began, "that we won't be able to get out very early. Due to the fact that most students will be up very late, it will be hard for the three of us to sneak out earlier than twelve. Things should die down by then."

"I understand. I will be in the main living room awaiting the signal."

"What time do you go down?" James asked. Sirius and Peter gave each other funny glances.

"I'll head over at 8:55, giving us just the right time. It takes no time in getting there. McGonagall will be waiting in the Hall as usual."

James nodded his head and took a sip of tea; he too had to stay awake.

"Are you going to wait in the living room from then on?" Sirius asked, hoping the answer was yes.

"Indeed," Remus said. "There is really no where else to go in the house. I mean, I've already slept." Remus helped himself to a large steak and some potatoes, monitoring the time closely. "So," he said to James and Sirius, "what do you two have planned so far?"

The two of them exchanged evil grins.

"C'mon," he said, "cough it up."

"Well," Sirius began, "there is this really annoying girl that lives on our street. She plays some kind of musical instrument. We were just discussing how fun it would be to mess with it a bit so the sound that comes out of it isn't what she expects."

"You do remember that use of magic on holidays will result in expulsion?" Remus asked them.

"Now that's a little fuzzy," James said. "They give us notes telling us not to use magic over the summer holidays but not Christmas.... so technically we can do magic."

"Don't you think that's bending the rules a bit far?" he asked.

"Oh come off it," Sirius said to him. "Learn to have a little fun. We're not going to get caught. That's the beauty of it all."

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

"That's just what we were discussing when you came into the room," James replied.

"I see," he said, "sorry to have interrupted you, please continue." Remus continued with his meal but James and Sirius stop talking about their plans and instead discussed some girls in Ravenclaw that Sirius thought were somewhat interesting.

Nine came closer than Remus had anticipated; he left the table at five till. Sirius and James escorted him to the entrance hall.

"You know," Sirius said to him, "you should come up and stay a couple of days. It would be a lot of fun."

James nodded his head and smiled. "You really should," James said to him.

"Maybe. I'll have to see what the family has in store. In the meantime," he said walking towards the smiling Professor McGonagall, "I'll see you two in the morning on the train." He waved goodbye and walked off for the large double doors with Professor McGonagall.

James and Sirius headed for Gryffindor tower when Sirius said he had to stop off in the Library for a short while.

"You go on ahead. I don't need you to escort me," Sirius said with a smile as he went towards the library. "I should be back shortly. I only have to check something real quick. Go kiss your girlfriend or something."

"Count on it," James said laughing slightly. He went to the tower. Sirius waited until James was out of sight, then headed for the secret tunnel that would lead him out of the school.

Once James had opened the Portrait door, he found the common room quite busy with people of all years preparing for the Christmas Holiday. Peter was sitting alone reading by the window; Lily and Jade were whispering and giggling in the far corner, looking as though they didn't want to be disturbed. James started towards Peter, who looked up as he sat down next to him.

"Vacation will be good, won't it Peter?" he asked.

"Yes," he said with a note of the jitters in his voice. "Yes it will be nice."

"What are you reading?" he asked. Peter didn't read for pleasure very often, so it was out of the ordinary to see him reading on a Saturday night before they all left for vacation.

"Oh it's just a book of spells. Stuff that should be useful in the future, you know." Peter avoided his eyes and looked out the window.

James found his behavior to be suspicious, so he too looked out the window and saw something that made his stomach lurch.

"What is Snape doing walking towards the Willow?" he asked quietly to himself.

"It's a joke," Peter said to him confused, thinking that James would know exactly why Snape was going down.

"A joke?" James asked giving Peter a piercing stare. "What are you talking about?"

"I thought Sirius told you," he said.

"Told me what?" he asked, standing up straight, taking his focus off of Snape and giving it to Peter.

"We kind of told him how to get into the willow but without telling him."

"You what?!" James said surprised, but being careful not to attract the others attention. "Why did you do that?"

"Sirius thought it would be funny," Peter explained with a small grin on his chubby face.

"Remus will kill him. I have to go," he said turning to leave.

"James," Peter said, getting up and pulling on his arm, "He'll kill you too if he sees you. So what if Snape dies, no one likes him."

James looked at Peter stunned. He couldn't believe what was happening. He pulled away without saying a word and rushed for the portrait door. The room was so busy that no one realized he had entered or left.

James ran as fast as he could for the tunnel behind the suit of armor. He couldn't believe Sirius would do such a thing and not tell him. They all hated Snape, but killing him was only a joke; he never thought that anyone would take it seriously. Once he reached the entrance, he slipped inside and sprinted down the tunnel. He shoved the wall open, and ran into the moon-bathed night for the Willow. Snape couldn't be seen. The Willow's branches started to move again.

Snape was already walking down the long and dark tunnel, his wand lit above his head and illuminating the passage ahead of him. An evil grin caressed his face. He was going to catch them. This time he was going to win. James would be expelled, and his life would become much easier. He felt like he had been walking for quite some time down this passage. The end had to be here somewhere, he thought. He could clearly hear movement coming from what seemed like ahead and behind. It must be the acoustics of the tunnel, he thought.

It took a while for James to get into the tree. He had to throw a large rock on the knot to stop the branches from flailing about. Once he did, he jumped inside and ran down the tunnel, hoping, praying that he would find Snape before Lupin did. Sweat was dripping down his face in large beads.

"Snape!" he called, but there was no response.

Snape heard it. He turned around yet saw no one. Maybe he just imagined it. He walked faster for the end of the tunnel just in case. He couldn't really see an opening, just a small hole; moonlight was pouring out of it. As he got closer he could hear movement coming from the end of the tunnel. He slowly walked forward; he didn't want to be heard.

James could see a yellow light glowing just ahead of him; he tried to run faster. "Snape?" he called out but there was still no response.

Snape turned around. He definitely heard James this time. It sounded as though he was right behind him. But the tunnel's opening was yards away now. Potter wasn't going to stop him from seeing what was at the other end.

James turned the last corner, breathing heavily and saw that Snape was climbing the last small incline to pop his head into the living room of the Shrieking Shack.

"Snape, stop!" he said, not moving himself. Snape turned around casually and looked at him with disgust.

"What Potter? Afraid I will discover your secrets?"

"Snape, you cannot go in there. You have to listen to me," he said.

"And why is that?" Snape asked with his usual drawl. "Why should I listen or trust you, Potter?"

"If you don't come down, I will force you to. Understand?" he replied sternly.

"Is that a threat?" he said, inching forward slowly.

"Just come down! Please!"

"No!" Snape lunged forward, putting his hands into the shack to pull himself in. James took action. He went for Snape legs and pulled him down, knocking the both of them to the ground. He tried to hold on to Snape, but Snape also used extreme force. He turned on him and punched him dead in the face. He hit so hard that James's head hit the hard stone floor with a loud thud, but that did not stop him. Both of them seemed to have forgotten that they had magic wands; fist fighting was the substitute. Snape went for the tunnel again, but James got up and pulled him back.

"You can't go up there," James yelled at him. Snape wheeled around again, this time striking James hard in the stomach, and jabbed him across the jaw.

James wasn't going to lie down and take it. He tackled Snape and brought him to the ground, hitting his face, something he had wanted to do for a long time. But Snape also contained a lot of rage and jealousy towards James. Not to mention he was a little more motivated on seeing what was in that room that James didn't want him to see.

Snape pushed James off of him, slamming him into the tunnel wall. He hit him in the nose this time, snapping the nosepiece of his glasses which fell to the floor. Snape didn't stop there; he held James with his left hand and pummeled him with his right until his face was full of blood. James tried to regain control but could hardly see. His lip and nose were bleeding and Snape continued thrashing him.

Finally, Snape threw James to the floor. His puffy-eyed, bruised and bloodied self lay there with little movement. Snape walked up the shallow incline, nearing his goal each second. Then, the moonlight shone on his face as he looked into a very battered room. Furniture was torn and scattered all about the filthy room; it looked like the inside of a haunted mansion. Snape walked further, so that his entire torso was inside. Then something horrifying met his eyes.

A fully-grown werewolf was starting at him, clearly startled to see Snape inside his living room. The werewolf growled loudly, saliva dripping from his visible long, sharp, white fangs. He was moving slowly toward him from far across the room, gaining speed as he came nearer.

Snape couldn't move out of fear. The hackles of the wolf raised and he started growling more viciously. Snape wanted to move but was frozen.

James could hear Lupin growling from up above him. He pushed himself off of the floor and groped for his glasses; blood falling from his face and splattering on the ground. He grabbed his glasses, which he held to his face with both hands to see that Snape's legs were still visible. James stood up and went for him. He grabbed his legs and pulled him down, this time without resistance.

Snape had a shocked and dazed expression on his face. When he looked up into James's eyes he didn't say a single word. James laid him down on the floor then went up the tunnel to find Lupin charging the entrance. James looked up and saw a wooden foundation beam just above his head. He grabbed onto it with both hands, glasses falling down to the ground, and swung his legs so that when Lupin started to come through the aperture, James hit him directly in the chest, sending him howling ten feet backwards, where he lay stunned....though not for long.

James jumped down, grabbed his broken glasses in one hand, and took the traumatized Snape in the other, lifting him off the ground and dragging him through the tunnel.

"Move!" James yelled at him. Snape started to run, but James ran faster, pulling Snape behind him. He could hear Remus running behind them, gaining on them.

"You have to run faster, Snape. He's going to catch us!" Snape seemed to understand; he had picked up the pace a bit. James could see the other end of the tunnel up ahead. He looked back to see Lupin running with teeth barred ready for the attack.

James pushed Snape through the passage first, then followed. Once inside the hollow of the tree, he moved the large stone in front of the opening just as Remus reached it. The stone made a large thud as it fit into place.

James leaned his back on the large stone, closing his swollen eyes and breathing heavily. Snape slumped down on the other end of the passage, also breathing heavily and clutching his chest.

"You foolish bastard," James said to Snape, who had come out of his trauma. "Didn't I tell you not to go in there?"

"I didn't know there was a full grown werewolf inside," Snape said, looking sternly at James.

"That's because no one is supposed to know," said a voice coming from the entrance of the Willow. James held his broken glasses to his nose and opened his eyes to see a very disgruntled McGonagall standing a few yards from him.