Running With Wolves

Chapter 18: The Auspicious Mind of Lily Evans

Chapter 18: The Auspicious Mind of Lily Evans

"Did you see who it was under the hoods, Pete?" Sirius asked eagerly as they emerged from the Whomping Willow, human again. The sun was just beginning to sneak over the horizon. They had left Remus, still in wolf form back in the Shrieking Shack almost an hour ago, aware that if they didn't hurry back they might run into Madam Pomfrey on her way to retrieve him. James opened the invisibility cloak and threw it around the three of them.

"Sirius, wipe our footprints behind us," he said.

"It was Snivellus."

"It was who?" Sirius stopped, a look of glee on his face.

"Snivellus. He was with the others. Rosier and them." James tugged on the cloak, trying to pull Sirius along.

"I wonder what they were doing in Hogsmeade in the middle of the night. And when they went into Honeydukes, they just disappeared down that tunnel?"

"You two were gone for ages. Where did it lead?" asked James.

"Back to Hogwarts I think."

"You think? You mean you didn't get to the end."

"We almost did, but I... I didn't want to let Moony into the caste in case I was right." In the short silence, it dawned on Sirius the consequences of their actions if Remus had gotten out of that passage. He felt a guilty twist in his stomach. He ignored it. They were helping Remus this way. Besides, it was fun. "What were the Death Eaters talking about?"

"It was hard to hear, but they kept repeating something about a way in."

"Do you think they were talking about the tunnel?"

"No, it was something they hadn't found yet. Snape kept saying, 'If we can't find it soon' something-or-other about You-Know-Who."

"Do you think You-Know-Who's put them up to something then?"

"Shhh." The front door of the castle creaked open. Yellow light spilled over the snow. "You've been clearing our footprints, right, Padfoot?" James whispered.

"Of course, I have, I'm not stupid!" he replied.

"Shhh!" Sirius scowled. But then Madam Pomfrey emerged from the door and he was silenced. James adjusted the cloak around them, making sure their feet were covered. Madam Pomfrey trudged past, pulling her cloak tighter around herself in the wind. Her boots crunched through the snow. Her pace felt agonizingly slow against the sun climbing the mountain tops in the east. They watched the Whomping Willow freeze when she raised her wand at it.

They dared to move again once she disappeared into the tunnel. They hurried through the door closing it softly behind them. They crept down the corridor and up the stairs in silence, until they reach the portrait hole. James removed the cloak.

"Billiwig." James said to the Fat Lady, who was still snoring in her frame. James cleared his throat loudly. The Fat Lady's snoring got louder. James tried again. When she still did not wake up, James pulled out his wand and jabbed her painting sharply. The Fat Lady feigned waking dramatically, spluttering and looking around for something, before spotting the three of them standing there, and scoffing, rolling her eyes with such fervor, they disappeared in the back of her head.

"Billiwig," James said again, impatient. Her portrait clicked and swung open. Sirius, James and Peter crawled through.

"So, what do you think Snivellus was doing in Hogsmeade?" Sirius asked.