𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒌𝒊𝒅𝒔 - pjo x hp

xvi. the marauders

𝐑𝐀𝐘𝐀 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐑𝐔𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐒 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐔𝐌𝐁𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐄. She wasn't completely sure if Professor Lupin was the fourth Marauder, but the evidence was overwhelming.

He'd gone to Hogwarts at the same time as James Potter, was a Gryffindor, and him being a Marauder would give Snape more than enough reason to suspect him.

"What the — holy everloving fuck!" Raya cursed, flinching at the sight of Harry and Hermione's heads floating in the air.

"The dog's got Ron," Harry gasped. "He's got Ron."

"What?" Raya muttered. "Slow down. Tell me from the start."

"We wanted to go see Hagrid because they were gonna execute Buckbeak, but we found Scabbers in Hagrid's hut," Hermione explained.

"Ron's supposedly dead rat?" Raya asked.

Hermione nodded, "Anyways, Scabbers was terrified or something, because he bit Ron and ran off into the forest. Next thing we know, a giant black dog is dragging Ron away."

"A giant black dog?" Raya echoed, her thoughts drifting back to the stray she'd seen so many times before.

He'd seemed harmless. A little creepy, but otherwise nothing to worry about.

"We need your help," Harry pleaded. "They went under the Whomping Willow. We were looking for McGonagall, but—"

"—We'll get him," Raya promised. "Let's not waste any time."

Harry and Hermione fit under an invisibility cloak that Harry had, while Raya manipulated the light to make herself invisible.

"Concealing Charm," she muttered to Harry and Hermione, even though it wasn't one.

The three of them ran into the forest, past a bunch of nests and weird looking animals. Harry threw the cloak off once they reached the Whomping Willow.

Raya blinked to herself, realizing this was her first time in the forest. For some reason, it wasn't all that scary.

"How do we get inside?" Raya whispered.

"There's a hole in the roots," Harry told her. "Follow me."

Raya and Hermione followed Harry down the gap in the roots, slithering down the tunnel. Raya saw an orange tail bobbing up and down in front of Harry. They moved along for a while. Raya was pretty sure they made it to Hogsmeade.

And then the tunnel began to rise; moments later it twisted, and Crookshanks had gone. Instead, beyond Harry, Raya could see a patch of dim light through a small opening.

The three of them paused, gasping for breath, edging forward. They raised their wands to see what lay beyond.

It was a room, a very disordered, dusty room. Paper was peeling from the walls; there were stains all over the floor; every piece of furniture was broken as though somebody had smashed it. The windows were all boarded up.

Harry glanced back at Raya and Hermione. Raya gave an assuring nod.

Harry pulled himself out of the hole, Raya following. She stared around. The room was deserted, but a door to their right stood open, leading to a shadowy hallway. 

Raya froze at the sight of the boarded windows. Her heart skipped a beat as she realized something.

"Guys," she whispered, "I think we're in the Shrieking Shack."