Things Worth Dying For (A Sirius Black x Reader Love Story)

The Whomping Willow

The cold air bit at Sirius's face, his nose red from the cold, and his breath vaporizing in front of him as he trudged through the snow. James held his wand out tentatively in front of him, both boys travelling in a frightened silence. It wasn't the first time they had broken curfew, but it was the first time they were breaking curfew and leaving castle grounds, not to mention following a member of staff on evidently private business. They watched with wide, startled eyes as Madame Pomfrey and Remus approached the Whomping Willow.

Sirius tugged at James's sleeve, stopping him in his tracks.

"They'll get themselves killed going there. No wa-"

"Shhhhhh!" James interrupted, shushing him with a finger pressed to his lips, another pointing at the nurse. She scurried swiftly to the base of the tree, pressing what looked like a knot in the roots before the tree had time to swing its violent branches. Instantly, the Whomping Willow's vicious limbs became paralyzed.

Sirius held his breath under James's invisibility cloak, the pair hurrying to duck into the entrance at the base of the Whomping Willow. He turned around briefly, sure he heard someone follow them in, but James pulled him to the side just in time to avoid Madame Pomfrey darting back outside.

"Now dear, I'll be back to get you at sunrise", came her squeaky voice, gaining distance with every syllable.

The pair waited until she was safely out of sight, before tearing off the cloak and taking in the sight around them. They had entered what looked like a shack, made entirely of decaying boards of wood, the scuttle of rats here and there was the only sound under the glow of the imminent moon. She had taken Remus up a set of stairs that looked like they'd collapse any second, and the remnants of wallpaper clung desperately to the musty walls, claw marks mapping their way past the drywall. They eventually moved into the shabby room Remus had entered. At their appearance, Remus's eyes widened, and he let out a strangled gasp.

"Wh-what are you two doing here?"

Sirius scrunched up his nose in disgust, fingering the dust that lay thick on the scratched up furniture in the room, the pungent smell of rotting corpses filling his nose.

"Us?", he replied incredulously. "Unless your mother lives here, we should be asking you that question. You told us she was sick!". He was now facing Remus, his voice accusatory.

Remus was now sweating, desperately watching the night sky through the shattered window.

"You guys have to go!", he said, shrinking away from them. "I'll explain later, right now you must leave!"

Even as he said this, his pupils dilated, his nose transforming to form a stubby snout. His ears grew out, fur beginning to coat every inch of his face. He brought his hands-turning into paws, with long, pointed claws-up to his face, clawing at his itching skin before turning away from his friends and growling "Get away!"

Sirius and James took several steps towards their friend.

"No way, Remus. Whatever happens, we're with you. You're in there somewhere Rem, fight it, I know you can", James cried.

However, when Remus turned back to them, his transformation was complete. He howled at the moon, an eerie sound that echoed endlessly throughout the rickety room, before turning to the friends he didn't recognize and leaping towards them.

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Y/N watched the scene play out from the opposite corner of the room in horror. She couldn't help but recite what she'd been taught about werewolves; couldn't help but take note of the way his eyes retained their color, their humanity too, if you could ignore the murderous look in them. She'd been taught countless methods on how to kill a werewolves, why they didn't deserve to live and how they'd maul her without a second thought. What she hadn't been taught, however, was how to fight one without killing it. They were magical creatures; defensive spells would work differently on them.