And There Were Always Two... - oc x r. lupin & oc x s. black

- 23 -

Ashley observed Remus as they walked over to Slughorn's office. He looked gaunt and pale. His long legs were getting tangled up from fatigue as he walked and he didn't speak a word.

"You okay there?" she asked carefully. "We don't have to go if you don't want to."

"I'm fine," he snapped back.

Ashley sighed and continued on their way quietly. She noticed how crabby Remus got when it was close to the full moon.

They had left the rest of the Marauders behind after Mavis had acted all weird about Remus and Ashley going together. She wondered if it was because Mavis and Sirius hadn't been getting along lately.

Before she knew it, Slughorn's office was just around a bend in the corridor. Ashley gently pulled on Remus' arm to get him to stop and tiptoed up to kiss him on the cheek.

"Just don't overexert yourself, okay?" Ashley whispered.

He just nodded and gave her a tiny confirming yet tired smile.

"Ah!" Slughorn exclaimed as the pair entered. "My two favourite students!"

Ashley felt like running in the other direction.

"How are you my lad?" he asked, slapping down his hand on Remus' shoulder.

Remus winced.

"Fine, sir."

"Come in, come in! I bet your lady would like a dance!"

Ashley didn't like Slughorn's presumptuous nature so she just led Remus away from him. There was in fact a bar full of drinks, some alcoholic that were strictly there for graduates, and a dance floor filled with people.

Sirius was having a heated discussion with Snape in the corner. She watched Snape glare at him and Sirius storm off in Mavis' direction.

"What a wonderful night!" someone said around them.

"Oh yes! I've heard it's a full moon!" somebody else answered.

Remus tensed beside her.

"Shit."

Ashley looked up at his horror-stricken face.

"Get James," he told her. "Get James fast."

She nodded and swiftly made her way across the room to the bespectacled, messy-haired boy.

"It's tonight," she whispered in his ear, ignoring his conversation with the quidditch captain. "Remus needs you now."

"Shit, excuse me."

James ran to Remus.

"We've got to get you out," he told him. "Now."

Both boys made for the exit, with Ashley bounding behind them.

Remus turned to look at her.

"Go to your dorm and lock yourself in," he told her.

"I'm coming with-"

"Like hell you are," he growled. "Go!"

Ashley sniffed hard and ran. She ran down the hall but not to her dormitory. No, she was going to her hiding spot. She scrambled up the column and reached her window just in time to see James and Sirius almost carrying Remus into the passage beneath the Whomping Willow.

Her eyes lingered on the shadowy passage into which the three friends had disappeared. Just like before, her throat still felt choked at the fact that Remus didn't trust her enough to come down there.

After a few minutes, she was pulled out of her thoughts by a skulking figure walking closer and closer to the whomping willow. In her depressed state, it took a second to recognise the greasy black hair and crow-like nose. Severus glanced behind him before lowering himself into the same hole as the Marauders.

Ashley quickly woke up.

He could die if he went there.

Would she care? No.

But Remus would.

She jumped to her feet and scrambled out of her nook like it was on fire. Her footsteps echoed down the hallway loud enough for Mrs. Norris to have heard from the other side of the castle, but she didn't care. She hurtled down the numerous staircases, tripping over her own feet, until she was finally outside and sprinting across the open mead.

And she didn't slow as she reached the Whomping Willow... that was a mistake. Ashley was swatted by a branch and fell on her ass. How had the boys done this so easily? But, she was ready for the next blow and ducked. It felt like a duel between her and the tree, until she slipped through the damp hole.

Side note: if any one had been below they would have been able to see her underwear, this hole was definitely not made with skirts in mind.

The tunnel was dark, so Ashley muttered "lumos" under her breath and pointed he wand around to find which way to go. The walls were made of packed dirt and rock, and cobwebs hung like liquid off the ridged insides of a monster's stomach. She walked along, shivering. The underground air was eerily still.

A screech echoed, followed by an excruciating howl.

Ashley swallowed and kept any thoughts about Remus at bay. This was not the time to be hesitant. She picked up her pace when she noticed that the tunnel was straight. Soon she was running until she barreled straight into a greasy git.

"Snape!" Ashley yelped. "You have to get out of here!"

He sniffed and something in his nose gurgled. God he was disgusting.

"Why should I listen to you, mudblood? I bet you're only trying to keep me from getting your friends in trouble!" he spat back at her.

"You complete arsehole! I'm saving your life here!"

He paused at the intensity of her words.

"Fine, then what are they doing?"

Ashley opened her mouth, but the words didn't come out. She could force herself to tell Remus' secret. Maybe it was awful of her, but Snape's life didn't seem worth it. He had a chance of survival, didn't he?

"That's what I thought," he muttered and turned around to climb a ladder that Ashley had not noticed before.

As she watched him push up the hatch, she thought about leaving but before she made that decision, the trap door was ripped off its hinges by a humongous claw.

Some instincts deep inside her made her hand take a hold of Snape's foot and pull him off the ladder. He tumbled to the floor, groaning.

Ashley glanced up and a snout shoved its way through the hatch, sniffing around. She didn't - couldn't - breath. Its wet black nose twitched and the nostrils flared. The snout pulled away and an eye, a green eye with a huge dilated pupil, positioned itself in the opening and looked through.

"It's me..." Ashley whimpered, terror shoving her against the wall as her eyes were stuck to his. "It's me, Remus... It's Ashley..."

She took a tentative step towards him when, all too quickly, the eye pulled away and the paw reached through again and took a swipe. The claw slashed Ashley's shoulder, ripping the flesh, and she fell to the floor with a cry.

It swiped a second time but Ashley was too far down to reach. An earth-shaking growl echoed throughout the cave, and this time the whimper came from Snape. The werewolf was furious that the prey were so close yet out of reach, but a smaller black-fured paw back him back. Antlers dug into his side pushing him away from the opening.

Snape took the chance and ran for it, leaving Ashley wounded on the dirty ground. Blood was pooling around her, metal and thick. Her shoulder burned and let out a cry.

Coward.

The barks of a dog and growls of a werewolf filled the air. While they fought James lowered himself through the hole and saw Ashley.

"Oh shit," was the last thing she heard.