Up To No Good

Chapter Fifteen

"A wolf," Remus groaned. "I knew it."

"Better a wolf than nothing at all," James reminded him, thinking of Snape's formless, wispy Patronus.

"Yeah, now Snivellus knows," Sirius scoffed. Peter had a disgusted look on his face, but as usual, he was bent on listening to the rest of them talk rather than put anything into the conversation. He pulled the Map out from under one of the bedside tables, where they had decided to keep it. "But I thought of something. Look."

Sirius held up the Map, but it was blank.

"What did you do?" Remus asked him, taking it from his hands with a scandalized look.

"Hold on, Moony," Sirius answered coolly, taking it back with a sly look on his face. He pulled out his wand, pressed its tip to the parchment, and whispered, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

Ink began to blossom onto the parchment despite it being dry moments before. Splotches of the stuff spidered out into buildings, pathways, and labels; the map had re-formed again, and now it was back to the way it was before.

"Brilliant," James complimented. "So how do you wipe it?"

Sirius's eyes glittered as he pressed his wand to the paper once more. "Mischief managed," he spoke, and the image faded even quicker than it had appeared. "Think of what we could do with this. No one would ever know that it's any different unless they knew the password."

Combined with James's Homonculous Charm, the map was even more useful than ever: not only could they see everyone's every move on the castle grounds, but they could also see every secret passage, and they could wipe it whenever anyone tried to look at it. All of them, especially Peter, stared at it hungrily.

"Anti-Snape Charm," James smirked.

A few weeks later, the four boys sneaked across the grounds just as the sun was beginning to set. Peter transformed, then, sneaking up to the Whomping Willow, he touched the knot. The rest of them followed, wind whistling faintly in their ears.

"I could use some fun," Sirius remarked, feeling his way through the tunnel.

Remus only grunted in reply.

The end of the tunnel widened, and the four of them clambered out into the Shrieking Shack. Over the years, it had earned its name from the monthly wails they heard coming from it, but none but they and Dumbledore knew the true source. It was a cloudy, humid night, but it was still cold within the shack. James transformed into a stag, waiting for Remus's eventual transformation. Sirius followed, and for several minutes, they waited in silence.

Remus began to scream; it was happening. James tried to avoid watching it, but it was like a train crash--he felt drawn to it, like his eyes were glued and he couldn't look away. Remus's hair turned gray and coarse, spreading all over his body as his form morphed to become werewolfish. The night had begun.

Hours passed. They waited, as always, until morning would come at last. While James was unable to communicate much in his stag form, he would often try to come closer to Remus, trying to somehow comfort him, while Sirius let out a soft rumble. Peter, as usual, waited in the corner, eyes round and doelike.

Sirius's ears pricked up. James strained his own, but he heard nothing. Sirius turned around, ears flattened, and let out a small whine. Something was wrong.

James looked from Remus, who still howled endlessly and tore at the walls, to Peter, who was rooted to the spot, to the tunnel entrance.

There's no way. It can't be, James thought. He couldn't have gotten in here.