The Whomping Willow

Chapter 2

The grounds were as still and empty as when he had sprinted away from them several hours earlier. Severus was slightly embarrassed of his ludicrous mad dash. Imagine, a Slytherin prefect, startled by some silly cat's yowling! There was nothing to be afraid of here of all places. The Headmaster would never let something dangerous within a parsec of Hogwarts. Old Albus Dumbledore was a bit eccentric, a bit harebrained perhaps--but he wasn't *stupid*.

Severus crossed the lawn towards the Whomping Willow, which began to groan and shift in annoyance when it sensed him. He gave it a wide berth as he hurried into the Dark Forest. Fumbling on the ground for a long branch, he tried not to imagine himself under the scrutiny of little beady eyes-- or worse, large hungry eyes.

At last he found a suitable branch and returned cautiously to the Whomping Willow. He circled it slowly, just beyond the reach of its wildly flailing boughs, seeking the knot of which Black had spoken. It did not take long for him to spot it, though it would certainly have evaded his notice had he not known about it before looking at the willow.

Only then did he turn his attention to the agitated boughs that were attempting to knock him senseless. He wasn't nimble enough to dodge the blows, nor short enough to at least present a smaller target.

He wished he'd been a Quidditch player-- then maybe he would have a speedy broomstick that would help him zip between the heavy boughs to jab the little knot. But he doubted that even a broomstick would be fast enough to elude a walloping. This Whomping Willow had been planted only three years ago, the same time as Severus had come to Hogwarts. But in their respective stints the willow had dug in its roots deeper and grown faster-- the upshot of which meant that in a fistfight between Severus Snape and the Whomping Willow, Severus was doomed: the willow had much bigger fists.

Still, he had to give it a try. Perhaps this was a hideout of his Gryffindor enemies. There might be enough damning evidence here to get all four expelled. Then Severus could sleep easier, secure in the knowledge that he would never again have Confusing Concoctions slipped in his porridge at breakfast, Trip Jinxes shot at his ankles when he walked down the corridors, or blocks of ice placed between his sheets on glacial winter nights instead of a warming pan.

Behind him there came another cry, not the same one as before-- this was more of a bellowed "*No*!" But the sound hardly penetrated his focus. Boldly he moved forward into the range of the swinging boughs.

A fraction of a second later he leaped back as a huge lump of gnarled wood smashed into the ground precisely where he had been. Quickly, before the branches could regroup, he darted past and beelined for the knot with his long switch outstretched-- it was only a few feet away-- he was almost there...

But his branch was not long enough! A bare inch from the knot, a heavy bough caught him in the stomach and lifted him clear off his feet. He screamed and dropped the switch as he was thrown up into the air, and he came down hard, knocking out a tooth.

His mouth full of blood and his head swimming, he tried to escape, but his blurred vision led him straight to another gigantic bough, which struck him between the eyes and knocked him flat on his back, dazed.

In another half-second he had rolled aside as a heavy, twisted branch descended towards his face. His reflexes were hindered by his terror, though, and the twisted branch crashed down on his right arm with a loud and extraordinarily agonizing crack. His wand flew from his hand and landed in the cold grass twenty feet away, fortunately out of the reach of the giant boughs. In any case it was useless now that his wand arm was shattered.

In desperation he did the only thing he could think of: he crawled painfully on his knees and his one good hand towards the base of the trunk, where the knot was. If only he could press it, the branches would stop trying to beat him to a pulp and he could see what secrets the tree guarded.

A yelp was torn from his lips as two heavy branches swung at once at his back, but they inadvertently shoved him face first into the gnarled tree trunk. He scrabbled in the dirt, terrified and with only the haziest comprehension of what his limbs were doing. Blinking blood out of his eyes, Severus groped at the tree trunk, searching for the knot. A bough landed a hard clout on the back of his neck and he screeched in pain as his head hit the ground--

And poked through a mossy hole, hidden deep between the enormous, knobby roots of the tree. Severus found himself peering down a long rocky tunnel. As his eyes adjusted to the gloom he perceived a quivering mass of black fur at the other end of the tunnel, and slowly he became aware of the low growling it was emitting...

The shape of a head, with a long snout and pointed ears, lifted away from the furry bulk and turned to gaze at Severus, and he realized he was staring at a werewolf.

Everything fell into place.

Remus Lupin's frequent bouts of illness-- monthly bouts, Severus suddenly understood. He recalled an instance in his fourth year when he had broken his wrist in Care of Magical Creatures and had gone to see Madam Pomfrey, dreading having to share the hospital wing even for ten minutes with Lupin, whom he'd known to be sick, and then not finding the Gryffindor boy there at all. The howls he had heard earlier, twice-- those had been the ghastly wails of the beast before him.

Then a few more things occurred to Severus all at once.

First, while he had his head jammed into the tunnel, a branch was mercilessly pounding his left leg.

Second, the roar "No!" that he had heard immediately before he had entered into the battle with the tree registered, and he wondered whether he had imagined it.

Third, and most important, Remus Lupin-- for Severus had no doubt now that the werewolf was he-- was rapidly uncurling from the corner and was eyeing him with bulging, ravenous yellow eyes and sharp, glistening fangs.

Severus was paralyzed with shock as the werewolf raised up on its paws and its growling got louder. It also seemed to be getting closer, at a highly alarming rate. Severus opened his mouth and began to scream as Lupin lunged forward and--

Hooves! Hooves on the ground above him! Briefly the image of a fierce centaur passed through Severus' mind before he was yanked off the ground by something spiky. He thought he was being lifted up by the Whomping Willow again and was almost glad-- between a bite from a werewolf and a lashing by a tree, he would welcome the Whomping Willow any day.

But this spiky thing cradling his battered, limp body was warm, and soft to the touch, almost velvety. This was the one avenue he had never expected: rescue.

The hooves struck at the dirt by the roots of the tree, slamming the trapdoor on the enraged werewolf's long snout. Then the spikes carried him safely out of the Whomping Willow's reach and laid him on the grass. He had the vague impression of a white face hovering over him before he blacked out.

Only a few minutes later he opened his bleary eyes and found the same white face above him. "Snape! Snape!" said the face.

"Who-?" Severus croaked. It was the beginning of the question *Who are you*, but he recognized the face before he finished asking. Hateful hazel eyes framed by round black glasses had swum into view.

"Potter!" Severus tried to reach for his wand, but it wasn't there, and the attempt to move his right hand sent a searing pain rippling up his broken arm. He screamed.

"Shut up, Snape," Potter said wearily.

"What are you doing here?" gasped Severus, nursing his wounded arm. "Get away from me!"

"You're very welcome!" Potter flopped on his back in the cold grass. Severus now saw that Potter's nose was broken, his glasses were shattered, and he had several lacerations and bruises on his face and neck. There was a slash above his left elbow that had soaked most of his sleeve.

"Where's the stag?" Severus demanded.

"What stag?"

"The stag! The stag that saved me!"

"There was no stag," sneered Potter, sitting up. "I saved you."

For a full minute Severus was so filled with horror, shame and rage that he was rendered unable to speak. Potter took this time to recover and assess his injuries. Then Severus found his voice. "No."

"Yes," Potter said testily. "Sirius told me he'd tricked you into coming out here. Didn't you realize he was winding you up? You could have been killed if I hadn't pulled you out before you were beaten to death or mauled by-"

He bit off his words quite suddenly.

"Lupin's the werewolf, I know," Severus muttered, "I already saw him down there."

"Blast, I was hoping you hadn't made the connection." He bit his lip and frowned appraisingly at Severus.

"I know what you're thinking," Severus warned, wincing as he dragged himself gracelessly to a sitting position, "and you're not skilled enough to Obliviate my memory."

"You don't know that," Potter grumbled, but he threw himself down again.

Severus was thinking of the stag. He was certain it had been real! He had heard the ringing hooves and felt the velvety antlers-- hadn't he? Perhaps he *had* been hallucinating. He'd taken a fair beating to the head; it was possible he had imagined the creature. Strange, though, it had seemed so real, and so much more likely to rescue him than a narcissistic twerp with an ego the size of Devonshire...

He looked coldly at Potter. "Why did you come here?"

"To save you," Potter said, his voice distorted by the fingers in his mouth that were probing his gums. In a moment he extracted a bloodied tooth and frowned. "Ouch."

"But why did you save me?"

"Because I couldn't go along with Sirius and let you be killed or bitten! We have our differences, but I'm sure you would have done the same if you knew I was in mortal peril."

Severus imagined himself standing by and smiling, watching Potter scream as a werewolf with razor-sharp fangs drew near. "I doubt it."

Potter bolted upright and glowered back at him. "You are absolutely unbelievable, you know that? Don't I at least get a thank you for saving your pitiful life?"

"No," Severus said belligerently, though deep down he knew he was being ungrateful. Potter *had* saved his life, even if it had only been from vanity or some misguided morality, but Severus was disinclined to be friendly. This was his archenemy, and it was his best friend who had maliciously sent Severus into the danger in the first place. Was it a plot between them?

"I'll bet you planned this," he said accusingly. "You and Black--you knew Lupin was a werewolf and you wanted to get me killed-- but at the last minute you lost your nerve and came to stop me!" Potter gazed at him, openmouthed and speechless. "Or was this 'rescue' a part of the ploy? Did you set this all up to gain house points and make me look like even more of an idiot?"

"That's absurd!" blazed Potter, quaking with rage. "I'm no sadist!"

"How do I know that? I'm going straight to Dumbledore about all this-- or is that just what you want?"

"You're off your head!"

A distant howl reminded Severus of Lupin. "Does Dumbledore know about your werewolf friend being here at Hogwarts?"

Potter raised his chin haughtily. "It was his idea."

"I don't believe you!"

"Ask him yourself then," Potter retorted, "*if* you can pluck up the courage to go see him and reveal how gullible you've been."

The horrifying thought of exposing his ineptitude and thoughtlessness to the Headmaster shook Severus, but only momentarily. "I *will* ask him!"

"Fine!"

"Fine then!"

They sat there glaring at each other.

"Why haven't you gone yet?" Potter asked.

"I think my leg is broken," Severus admitted, looking sadly at his left leg.

"Mine too. What are we going to do?"

"*I* am going to sit here quietly and wait for help," Severus responded.

Another howl from werewolf Lupin reached them, and this time it did not seem so distant.

"On second thought, I am going to crawl all the way to the castle as fast as I can," Severus said hurriedly.

"Good plan."

They both began to ease onto their good knees. Severus had a worse time of it, having only one functioning arm, but he gritted his teeth and held back the groans of pain that threatened to escape. Once he was supported precariously on one knee and one palm, he noticed Potter's smirk.

"Need some help?"

"Not from you," snarled Severus.

"Wish I'd paid more attention during Charms," Potter said wistfully. "Then I might know some medical magic."

"*I* do," Severus said impatiently. "Give me your wand. I'll just Summon my own wand from the grass over there, set our legs in splints, and-- I don't know, conjure a wheelbarrow or something."

"Doesn't matter, once our legs are bandaged we can hobble back to the castle," Potter said. "Why are *you* going to do all this magic and not me?"

"Because I am the more able wizard," Severus said coldly. "Your wand?"

Potter scowled. Severus sighed. "Please?" he said wearily, resorting to a word that in his vocabulary was seldom used.

The other boy started, and Severus plucked the wand from his slack fingers. "Hey!"

"Accio wand," Severus said loudly. Potter dexterously snatched Severus' wand as it flew at his face. They looked at each other for a moment. Then they traded wands.

"So what's this splint spell?" Potter asked, crawling closer with a small wince of pain.

Severus started to point at his own broken leg, but changed his mind and grudgingly tapped Potter's instead. "Ferula."

A wooden rod and bandages burst from Severus' wand and wound round Potter's leg. Potter sighed in relief. "Much better. Haven't got any crutch-conjuring spells, have you?"

Severus rolled his eyes and set his own broken bones, also tying a tourniquet on Potter's bleeding arm. Then they both climbed carefully to their feet and began to limp towards Hogwarts.

"I'm going to kill Sirius for this trick," Potter mumbled furiously as he staggered forward.

"Not if I get there first," Severus said grimly. Potter looked up in surprise, apparently unaware he had been speaking aloud, then looked away again with a scowl.