Three Animagi and a Werewolf

Chapter 12: The Lair of the Werewolf

The Secret of the Whomping Willow

Later that afternoon, Severus Snape strolled along a corridor on the fourth floor of Hogwarts castle going over the day's events in his mind. He scowled at the mere thought of how James Potter and Sirius Black had humiliated him. And as for Peter Pettigrew - Severus snorted. He was nothing more than a worm. A crawler, fawning on people who were stronger than him, people he thought could protect him.

Fool. A cruel smile tugged at the corner of Severus's mouth. They were all fools. But soon they would all be taught better. Soon they would know there were some things it was impossible to protect yourself against. Powers far beyond their control. Soon they would wish they had never crossed him, and they would grovel before him, begging for forgiveness. But Severus would show them no mercy. 'There is only power, and those too weak to seek it.'

Those had been the Dark Lord's words to his supporters, and Severus had been proud to be one of the youngest to not only hear them, but to understand their meaning, and feel secure in the knowledge that he was on the side of power. He would show them all. That intolerably over-confident Sirius Black, behaving like he owned the world; cowardly Peter Pettigrew, afraid of his own shadow; Remus Lupin, the sickly, soft bookworm; Lily Evans, that green-eyed mudblood; and James Potter.

A hot flood of hatred boiled in Severus at the thought of Potter. There was nothing he could really put his finger on that made him hate James Potter, but hate him he did, with all his heart. And one day he would unleash that hatred, and Potter would curse the day of his own birth.

Severus smiled grimly and stopped in front of a window. He looked out towards the Forbidden Forest and placed a clenched fist on the window ledge. One day soon he would be free of this school and its foolish old Muggle-loving headmaster. Some seemed to doubt that even the Dark Lord had the power to overthrow Dumbledore. But not Severus. He was certain the old wizard would bow and scrape before his master, the same as everyone else.

He looked down onto the lawn, and suddenly his thoughts were interrupted. Two figures were moving slowly across the grounds, away from the castle and towards that hideous and vicious tree that had been planted in the year Severus himself had come to Hogwarts. He recognised one of them as Madam Pomfrey, the matron. And the other ... Severus felt a thrill of excitement. Surely that was Remus Lupin.

Severus looked quickly around him. There was no one there. Good. He leaned forward out of the window, craning his neck to see better. To his surprise, for some reason the tree seemed to have frozen, and Madam Pomfrey was now standing back while Remus ... Severus caught his breath. Remus Lupin had vanished. He seemed to have disappeared among the roots of the Whomping Willow. Madam Pomfrey turned away from the tree and made her way back to the castle.

Severus stood back from the window, his thoughts racing. There was something very mysterious going on here, and he would find out what it was, if it was the last thing he did. With a determined spring in his step, he strode back along the corridor in the direction of the staircase.

James checked his wristwatch on the way down to the courtyard. It was exactly five to five. Good. That should give him enough time to tell Lily what he and the others had discovered, grab a bite to eat, get back up to the dormitory, finish his Divination homework and go to bed early. He, Padfoot and Wormtail would get a couple of hours of sleep, and Sirius would set his silent alarm clock for ten o'clock. Frank Longbottom would be fast asleep by then - he only needed to look at a pillow and he'd fall asleep. James sometimes envied him. He wished he could sleep like that. Then they'd take the Marauder's Map and his Invisibility Cloak, and they'd sneak down to the Whomping Willow. Wormtail would crawl under its thrashing branches and freeze it, and then they'd go in and get Moony. He smiled. They had planned a trip into the Forbidden Forest tonight. It would be fun, and probably rather dangerous.

James slowed his steps as he came around the corner. He spotted Lily waiting for him on a low wall. She smiled and waved when she saw him. James smiled back and went over to join her.

"Hello," he said, sitting on the wall beside her.

"Hello, James," she replied.

"Err ... how's your friend?" he enquired, although he already knew, really. Sirius had told him.

"She's fine," Lily said brightly. "Madam Pomfrey put some revolting goo on her eyes, and she'll be back to normal again by tomorrow. So - what's all the secrecy?" she asked.

James looked at Lily. Her green eyes were bright with eager anticipation. James could understand that. He himself loved nothing more than mystery and excitement. Unfortunately, what he had to tell her didn't make him feel excited at all. In fact, if he was honest, it just plain scared him.

"I suppose it all started with Professor Trelawney's prediction," he began. And then he told Lily all he knew.

The Knoll on the Trunk

Sirius Black closed the door of the hospital wing behind him, buried his hands in his pockets and strolled away in the direction of the main staircase, whistling to himself. He wondered what he should do with himself for the rest of the evening. Moony was in the Shrieking Shack by now, Prongs was meeting Lily Evans in the courtyard. He supposed he could go and find Wormtail and play a game of chess, but somehow he didn't feel like it.

He went down into the Great Hall and found Frank Longbottom sitting with Damian Diggle and Bertha Jorkins at the Hufflepuff table. They looked up when he entered.

"Hello Sirius," Bertha cried eagerly, waving a pack of cards at him. "We were just going to play exploding snap. Care to join us?"

She shifted to her right a little, rather superfluously making room for him on the long bench. Sirius shook his head.

"Nah," he said. "Don't feel like it. I think I'll go for a walk," he added on an impulse, turning right around again.

Bertha sighed and watched the door close behind him.

"Are you dealing, Bertha? Or aren't we good enough for you?" Damian asked, pretending to be hurt.

Bertha ignored him and began shuffling the cards with a disappointed look on her face.

"Ooh, think our Blacky's rather handsome, do you?" Frank teased.

"Shut up," Bertha muttered, blushing furiously.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Bertie," Damian put in. "But a lot of girls seem to share your opinion. I'm afraid you don't stand much of a chance with girls like Aurora about."

"And what would someone like Sirius want with her?" Bertha retorted hotly. "If she didn't happen to be able to read his mind and know just what he wants her to say, he wouldn't think twice about her."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Damian disagreed.

"And why is that?" Bertha demanded.

Damian looked down at his hands.

"Oh, nothing. Just that ... well, you've got to admit she's rather pretty," he admitted, his ears going red.

Frank laughed merrily.

"Oh pack it in, both of you. Are we going to play exploding snap or not?"

Sirius pushed the heavy front door open and walked out into the last rays of the day's sunlight. His foot touched something soft. Looking down, he saw Mrs. Norris, the caretaker's scrawny tabby cat. She hissed at him angrily.

"Well, you shouldn't get in my way, should you?" Sirius said.

He walked on down the stairs and around the corner of the castle, following the wall along the grounds. Then he slowed his steps. A few paces away, a black-haired boy in Slytherin robes was standing with his back to Sirius, looking out across the lawn. Sirius waited until he stood right behind the other boy.

"Bird-watching, Severus?" he asked. "You won't spot anything like that."

Severus Snape spun round and glared at him.

"You had better keep out of my way," Severus replied quietly.

Sirius took half a step back in mock fear.

"Tough words for someone who threatens to hex girls who haven't even drawn their wands."

Severus clenched his fists to control his fury. Sirius smiled with exaggerated friendliness.

"So, what are you up to?" he asked.

Severus considered telling him to mind his own business, but then he changed his mind. Instead he smiled back.

"It's a strange thing," he began slowly. "But I was looking out of the window earlier and I saw two people walking across the lawn to the Whomping Willow."

"Oh?"

Sirius tried to look politely interested. Severus continued.

"Yes. One of them I'm sure was Madam Pomfrey, but she went back to the castle a few moments later. And I could have sworn the other was your friend Lupin. He seemed to disappear ... inside the tree."

Recovering from the initial shock at having this secret discovered, Sirius brought his fake smile back into place.

"Really? Well, isn't that fascinating?"

"Indeed."

Sirius felt the other boy's cold eyes on him.

"Now as we all know," Severus went on, "it's strictly forbidden for anyone to approach that tree, and until now I had always thought no one would want to. It is well known, after all, that the Whomping Willow is violent. And yet it allowed Lupin to approach and seemingly vanish among its roots without so much as a murmur. Curious, don't you think?"

"No," Sirius replied lightly.

An outrageous plan was taking shape in his mind. He wondered briefly whether it was a little too outrageous, but then he looked at Severus's smug, self-satisfied smirk, and his doubts were blown away. He would give Snape the fright of his life, and serve him right.

"It's quite simple, really, when you know the answer," he went on. "You see, there's a secret opening below the Whomping Willow ..."

He paused, both for effect and because it amused him to see that Severus was hanging on his every word.

"A simple action is all that is required to freeze the tree and enter the hole."

"A spell?" Severus guessed wrongly.

Sirius laughed.

"Nothing so complicated as that," he said. "All you need is a very long stick. There's a particular knoll on the side of the trunk. Press it from a distance, and the willow will stop moving and let you in."

He looked around him and added conspiratorially,

"I'd wait until it gets dark, if I were you though. You don't want any teachers to catch you prodding the tree."

And with those words, Sirius turned on his heel and walked briskly back to the castle, smiling to himself. Somehow he no longer felt so listless. He thought he would go and join that game of exploding snap after all.

The End of the Tunnel

James stood in front of the mirror trying to smooth his hair, but it refused to lay flat. He frowned and examined his features. He found himself, for the first time in his life, debating whether he was good-looking or not. It seemed to him that it was an awfully plain face that looked back at him. He thought of his friends. Now Sirius - Sirius was handsome, James knew that. And even Remus seemed to attract girls, despite or maybe even because of his tired eyes and grey-flecked hair. James supposed Remus appealed to what people called the 'maternal instinct' in girls.

But James himself had had to save a girl from falling off her broom before girls had taken any notice of him. Then, of course, they had been all over him. He hadn't wanted that either. All he wanted was ... James paused in the middle of the thought. What did he want? He thought of Lily. She had sat and listened patiently to everything he had told her. She had been sympathetic and reassuring and ... nice. He looked into the mirror and wondered whether Lily thought him good-looking.

Behind him, the dormitory door opened with a flourish and Sirius strode in.

"Padfoot!" James exclaimed. "Where have you been?"

"I had a nice little chat with Severus Snape, and then I played snap with Frank, Damian and Bertha," Sirius replied, dropping onto his bed and crossing his arms behind his head.

"A chat with Severus?" James repeated suspiciously. "What about?"

"Oh, he saw Moony disappearing under the Whomping Willow."

Sirius laughed.

"He was puzzled and wanted to know how to do it. So I told him."

James stared at his friend.

"You didn't?!"

"Of course I did. Haha, I can hardly wait to see his face when he comes back from his little 'adventure'. It should be quite a laugh."

James ran his hands through the hair he had just spent ten minutes trying to flatten.

"I don't believe it!" he cried.

"What's the matter with you?" Sirius asked, his smile fading. "Don't you think Severus deserves a little punishment for all his bullying?"

James was pacing the floor, shaking his head.

"You told him how to get inside the willow? Tonight, of all nights? Are you mad?"

"Steady!" Sirius protested, sitting up. "It's just a bit of fun, that's all."

But James still stared at him in wide-eyed disbelief.

"A bit of fun?" he said, his face powder-white. "Sirius, you've seen Moony transform. It's no joke. When he's like that, he doesn't have any control over his actions. He ... he's dangerous. He could very easily kill Severus."

"Severus will turn and run for his life before it comes to that."

"And what if he doesn't? What if he gets trapped in there? That was one hell of a stupid idea, Sirius. Damn!"

James snatched up his wand and the Marauder's Map and threw a cloak about his shoulders.

"Prongs, wait!" Sirius called, getting to his feet.

But James ignored him. He raced out the room, banging the door behind him.

The grounds were dark. Severus Snape looked up at the inky black sky. The silver disk of the moon was shrouded by cloud, but for some reason he couldn't quite put his finger on, the mere knowledge of its presence made him uneasy. Something told him what he was about to do wasn't a good idea, but he couldn't back down now. He hitched his cloak a little higher about his shoulders and sneaked across the lawn.

James flew down the main staircase, secretly praying that he wouldn't meet anyone on his way down. He stole a glance at the Marauder's Map. The dot marked 'Severus Snape' was already awfully close to the one marked 'Whomping Willow'. James stuffed the Map in his pocket and took the next flight of stairs three steps at a time.

Remus peered out through a large crack between two of the wooden planks that boarded the windows of the Shrieking Shack. The moon was still hidden behind a large cloud, so he hadn't transformed yet. It wouldn't be much longer before he did, though. Remus sighed and tried to think of something more cheerful. He started by reminding himself that it wouldn't be too long before his friends came, and they all set out to explore the woods. Then his mind wandered to his meeting with the young Ravenclaw girl, Heather Woodcock. He had decided she was a nice kid, and was genuinely looking forward to teaching her Defence Against the Dark Arts. A noise in the tunnel behind the hidden door made him turn around. Surely it was still too early for Padfoot, Prongs and Wormtail. The moon began gliding out from behind its cloud.

Sirius paced to and fro in the tower room. He was in two minds. On the one hand, he didn't see what all the fuss was about. Surely even Severus wouldn't be stupid enough to hang around once he realised what was going on. On the other hand ... on the other hand, James had gone down there in his human form - Sirius was sure he wouldn't risk Severus finding out he was an unregistered Animagus - and that meant that Severus was no longer the only one whose life was in danger if Sirius's plan went wrong. He stopped in the middle of the room and looked around him. Sweat was pearling on his brow. He caught sight of himself in the mirror and shook his head in exasperation.

"Idiot!" he muttered angrily, not sure whether he meant himself or James.

Coming to a decision at last, he checked to make sure his wand was in his pocket and hurried down the stairs.

James clutched at a stitch at his side and tore across the grounds. He found a long stick lying forgotten on the grass, and that alone was enough to tell him, without getting the Marauder's Map out again, that Severus had entered the tunnel. James picked the stick up and prodded the tree. The willow froze, and he rushed forward and down the hole. His footsteps sounded oddly muffled on the ground of the dark tunnel as he jogged along it, making sure not to hit his head. As he drew nearer to the other end, he could make out the silhouette of a boy in Hogwarts robes outlined against the green light from a wand tip.

Severus shone his wand light on the door in front of him and reached for the handle. He could hear strange scratching and scuffling noises on the other side. His hand pressed the door handle down, and suddenly everything happened very quickly.

"Severus, no!" James yelled.

He grabbed the other boy by the collar and pulled him away from the door just as it swung open. For a moment they lay in a tangled heap on the floor, while outlined against the moonlight that shimmered in through the cracks in the wooden panels stood the shaggy shape of the werewolf, powerful and menacing. Severus just lay there, paralysed by shock. James tugged at his arm and pulled him to his feet, shoving him back along the tunnel, away from the doorway.

"Run!" he shouted, pushing Severus along in front of him and glancing anxiously back over his shoulder. "For god's sake, get a move on."

The Whomping Willow had already stopped moving when they reached the other end of the tunnel and Severus scrambled out into the open. James felt a pair of hands seize his arms and drag him up, and he looked up into Sirius's pale face.

"James," the latter muttered under his breath, pulling his friend free of the tree's lower branches so that the hole could be sealed again. "Are you all right?"

James nodded silently. He thought of reproaching Sirius again for his foolish idea, but the look of fright on Sirius's face was enough to tell him there was no need, though he knew very well Sirius's concern had been only for him and not for Severus.

Severus Snape got up shakily and brushed some dry earth off his knees. His lips were thin and white, and a boiling anger shone through the terror on his face.

"Y-you!" he stammered, livid with rage.

"Severus, it was only meant as a joke," Sirius began meekly. "Come on now, you'd have done the same."

"A joke! You will regret this, Black. And you, Potter. The headmaster shall hear of this!"

"Indeed, he shall," said a voice right beside them.

All three of them jumped and whirled around. No more than four paces away stood Albus Dumbledore, and for once there was not a hint of a sparkle in his blue eyes. He peered sternly at James and Sirius over the top of his half-moon glasses.

"Professor Dumbledore, I ..." Sirius began, but he was silenced by a single look from the headmaster.

"I think," Dumbledore said in a dangerously quiet voice, "that we had better discuss this in my office. This way, if you please."

He stood aside, and James and Sirius led the way with drooping shoulders, hanging their heads. Severus followed after Dumbledore, the familiar sneer back in place.

The Headmaster's Decision

James and Sirius stood side by side in Dumbledore's circular office. It was dark in the room, apart from the light shed by a tall candlestick beside the desk. The headmasters and headmistresses around the walls were all either nodding or looking serious, and Fawkes the phoenix sat on his perch looking bedraggled and adding to the overall gloom of the moment.

Albus Dumbledore took his time entering the room and walking over to his desk. He sat down slowly, leaned back in his chair and folded his hands. His keen blue eyes were studying the faces of the two boys opposite him. Severus Snape stood to one side, looking uncommonly pleased with himself.

After a long silence, Dumbledore said,

"Well, perhaps one of you would like to explain how it happened that I glanced out of a window tonight to see two fifth-year Gryffindors and a Slytherin apparently crawling out from under a tree you have all been warned against approaching - and quite distinctly enough too, I should have thought."

He looked at all three of them in turn.

"Severus," he said, "you look eager to speak. Why don't you start?"

"Certainly, Headmaster," Severus simpered. "It so happened that I saw someone else disappear under the willow earlier today. It was hard to tell from a distance, but I was sure ..."

"... that it was Remus Lupin," Dumbledore finished for him, waving that part of the information aside. "Go on."

Severus looked rather put out at having what he obviously considered one of the most vital points of his story cut short. But he went on nevertheless.

"Well, naturally I was intrigued. I wondered why Remus Lupin had entered the Whomping Willow, and how. Then Black here came along and told me how to do it."

Dumbledore shot a quick glance at Sirius, who looked away guiltily.

"It's obvious it was a plot by their little gang," Severus was saying. "They knew I would go down there and investigate. It was lucky I kept my head, or I would not have been able to escape alive," he finished dramatically.

Sirius snorted derisively before he could stop himself.

"Keep your head?" he retorted loudly. "Is that what you call it? It looked to me more like you were scared out of your wits. If James hadn't gone after you and more or less carried you out ..."

"He did not!" Severus protested. "You both tried to kill me!"

"James saved your life!" Sirius yelled.

Severus started towards him, looking ready to wring his neck. Sirius raised his arm, but James caught his wrist.

"Silence!" Dumbledore commanded.

Severus and Sirius both relaxed, but kept their hands balled into fists and turned away from one another.

"I'm sorry, sir," Sirius said, struggling to keep his voice down and his temper in check.

He met the headmaster's eyes evenly.

"I realise what I did was stupid and ... and dangerous. And I'm ready to take any punishment you think appropriate, as long as you don't punish James, because it wasn't his fault."

"Sirius ..."

James stepped in, but Sirius would not be deterred.

"No, James," he said. "It wouldn't be fair to let you take the blame, or Remus for that matter."

He turned back to Dumbledore.

"It's true, sir, that I told Severus how to enter the Whomping Willow, even though I knew it was dangerous. He had been bullying friends of ours and I thought it would serve him right. But you have to know it was all my fault, and no one else's."

"Liar!" Severus hissed. "Give it up, Black. You're just trying to shield your friends, but you know no one will believe you. Potter and Lupin, and even Pettigrew, no doubt, were in on it all."

"That's not true," Sirius protested. "Honestly, Professor," he said to Dumbledore, his words coming quickly and his voice urgent, "it was my idea alone, and neither James nor Remus nor Peter knew of it. I swear James only found out when it was already too late to warn Severus, though he tried. James went after him, and got him out."

Dumbledore watched his earnest face. Then at last he turned to James.

"Is this true?" he asked quietly.

James nodded.

"Yes, sir. But Sirius didn't intend any real harm to come to Severus, he only ..."

Dumbledore held up a hand to silence him. He sat in silence for a while, thinking. Then he turned to Severus again.

"I agree that you have been the victim of a very foolish, and extremely dangerous trick," he said. "And yet I must ask you never to mention a word of this to anyone."

"But ..." Severus sputtered.

"No one must hear of this," Dumbledore insisted. "I must have your word that you will never tell a soul about Sirius's 'prank', Remus Lupin, the Whomping Willow or anything you may have seen down there. Your word, Severus."

Severus Snape looked livid, and for a moment James and Sirius thought he would refuse. But at last he bowed his head and said quietly.

"You have my word, Headmaster."

Dumbledore nodded his satisfaction and turned next to James.

"To you, James, I agree no blame can be attached. Your behaviour was commendable. You showed great courage, and under normal circumstances that would earn your house fifty points at least. However, I am afraid that you too must promise me never to mention it."

"I promise," James said without hesitation.

"As for you, Sirius," Dumbledore continued in an uncharacteristically harsh voice, "I hardly know what punishment would be fitting for your foolishness. I trust that I need not ask you to promise that you will never make such a mistake again. For the next month, you will spend your spare time helping out wherever help is needed about the castle. I am sure Mr. Filch will find ample work for you to do. And I must tell you that I personally am deeply disappointed in you. Now go, all of you."