metanoia

Chapter Thirty-one

Letti and Remus are truly appreciative of their blonde friend but continually drinking a potion that makes their skin crawl and gives them the feeling of needing to throw up was becoming a burden to them both. On the morning of the Full Moon, Alex was late to the Great Hall for breakfast so when the two werewolves drank their last potion of thr Cycle, they decided to add a small dash of sugar.
"Maybe she was just being overly dramatic and it'll still work," Letti sheepishly suggested as she forced herself to down her slightly better tasting Wolfsbane.

Remus sighed in response as he put his empty goblet onto the table, "Let's hope you're right because if not and she was being honest about it affecting the potion, we just made their night a lot more difficult than it needed to be."

"Hey Worth, wait, I have a question for you!" Severus Snape yelled after Alex as she walked toward the Great Hall from the Girl's Lavatory.

She furrowed her brows at the Slytherin, confused as to why he wanted to talk to her, "What do you want, Snape?"

"Look, I know that this isn't really my place. And, you don't owe me anything. But you're Lily's friend and... she and I haven't really talked at all this year, not since the incident last year. So, I was wondering if you could tell me if she and Potter are dating? Is she okay with him?" Snape asked her sadly, realizing more than ever that he really lost his best friend last year because of him lashing out on her in anger.

She couldn't help but feel bad for him, knowing what it's like losing the only person you truly loved and trusted because of something stupid. Alex nodded, kindly smiling up at him, "They are. And she's going to be just fine with him, he truly loves her."

"I know it's not really my place either, but you're the Marauders' best friend. Do you know where Lupin disappears to every month?" Snape asked as Pandora Malfoy and a group of Ravenclaw 4th years passed them, curiously watching their interaction.

Of course she knew the answer but he didn't know that and she definitely wasn't going to let her face answer before she did, so she left her eyebrows furrowed in an attempt to convince him that she knew nothing. "No, Snape, I don't. I'm sorry. Why, what do you think is going on there? I've been wondering myself."

He was about to answer, believing her false ignorance, but then sees that someone is watching them from over her shoulder and continues into the Great Hall, not telling her about his theory about Remus Lupin. Alex watched Severus' black hair bob in the masses of students going through the Great Hall, wondering if he could have figured out Remus' secret until behind her someone cleared their throat to get her attention. Professor Dumbledore smiled down at the girl, seeing the noticeable dark circles under her eyes, meaning that she's been having sleepless nights due to her dreams.

"Good morning Miss Worth, when's the last time you had a dream?"

"Last night. I saw James and Lily's death again," whispered Alex.

Dumbledore felt bad for the girl, pitying her and her rare ability that was a gift which was slowly becoming her own personal curse. "Don't go with Miss Lightwood this evening, she'll be fine without you for one evening. You really need to get some rest."

"Yes Professor," Alex yawned entering the Great Hall, already feeling an immense sense of guilt for being benched for the evening.

"Hey Lils," Alex called after her redheaded friend on their way to Charms. Lily stopped, turning around to allow her friend to catch up to her and Marlene. "I just thought you'd like to know that Snape was bugging me at breakfast this morning about you and James."

"Oh," Lily mumbled, looking down at her shoes. She didn't know how to feel about Severus talking to her friends about her newly blossomed relationship with James Potter, especially since she hasn't talked to him since their Fifth year after he called her an unforgivable name. She still deeply cared for him, she just wasn't ready to forgive him yet. "Thanks for letting me know."

Alex recounts the conversation between her and Severus Snape to Remus and Letti to give them a heads up on his curiosities after their classes had ended for he evening and they were lounging in the Common Room. Remus stared at the fire, breaking off a piece of chocolate and offering it to his friend, "Well shit. This will be a bloody nightmare if he finds out. Hey, we've got to..."

"Go, be careful please. I can't tonight, Dumbledore's orders. He saw me earlier and saw how tired I was and told me I couldn't go. He knows I go with Letti. Anyways, if either of you come back with any more scars, I'm going to stab you," she jokes as Remus and Letti duck out the door.

Remus chuckled to himself as they ran across the grounds, toward the Whomping Willow. While going into the Willow, Remus and Letti both briefly got a glimpse of the full moon from between the swinging branches, cueing them to sprint into the tunnel to reach the Shrieking Shack before the monsters within made their monthly appearance.

But they fully transformed in the hall, not reaching the Shrieking Shack.

Severus Snape never trusted or liked the Marauders. They were pompous, arrogant and bullies; who believed that the ground they stood on was sacred ground. Snape has been on to whatever Remus Lupin has been hiding for years now, but after he made the mistake of calling his one true friend a Mudblood his drive to prove to her that they weren't perfect was stronger than ever.

Earlier that day when he asked Alex Worth if she knew anything about the situation, he was completely ready to confess his theory to her because he knew that she was close to the quartet and if he were right, even in the slightest, she'd keep Lily safe. But he left when he saw Sirius Black approach them from over her shoulder. Later that day, Sirius told him that if he was truly that curious about Remus to go to the Whomping Willow to see for himself.

So once the moon was out and darkness fell on the Hogwarts grounds, Severus snuck out of the Castle and went to the Whomping Willow like Black suggested. Of course, he was fully aware that this could very well be a trap but it was a risk he was willing to take.

Severus immobilized the swinging tree and entered the tunnel that the base of the tree concealed. In the cold stone halls he heard scraping, low throaty growls and the sound of a squeaking rat. Severus muttered, "Lumos" so that he could see what was in front of him.

Drawing attention to himself, the soft light of Severus' wand revealed a big, hairy monster lurking in the darkness in front of him. Two werewolves turned from facing the other and began to lunge toward the Slytherin. Scared straight, Snape was frozen in his tracks as the werewolves bounded toward him until a pair of calloused hands pulled him out of the tunnel and out into the night. Severus looked up to thank his savior, only to see James Potter standing in front of him and Sirius Black sprinting up the hill towards them. Severus pushed himself off the ground, leaving his savior and the person who sent him there in the first place alone at the Whomping Willow.

As Severus ran to the Castle, James turned to his best mate with wide eyes and screamed, "What the Hell did you do? Why was he here?"

Sirius looks at his best mate, shrinking back in shock and guilt. He's never made James this angry with him before. He cleared his throat, glaring in the direction Snape had run, "It serves him right. He was getting too nosy. I didn't think that he'd get hurt because Padfoot and Prongs would be there to protect him."

"But you weren't. I was. And you could have just killed him. Made a murderer out of our friends," James yelled, stomping into the night toward the castle.

Sirius watched his best mate stomp to the Castle as Moony and Star howled in the Shrieking Shack, "Where are you going? We're supposed to help Moony."

"I've got to fix your mess," James spat back at him, sprinting after Severus Snape.