» a werewolf's heart » {wolfstar}

betrayal

-padfoot-

I've been looking for James—and apparently he's been looking for me, too. He storms up to me in the hallway, Peter following behind him with a guilty expression on his face, and he looks positively livid... or maybe frantic. Both. He runs a hand through his hair anxiously and walks quickly up to me, hissing, "Padfoot, tell me you were just joking with Peter! Tell me you did not send Snape after Remus!" I can see the way his robes bulge—he's got the Invisibility Cloak with him.

I raise my eyebrows at him, surprised. Not that Peter told him—I might have expected that, if I'd thought about it. No, I'm surprised that he looks so upset about it. "I wasn't joking—the bloody moron deserves to get the daylights scared out of him by a werewolf!"

Peter cringes. I can tell he doesn't like being in the middle of this, and he's expecting things to blow up. I don't know why—it's just another prank.

"Sirius! What were you thinking?!" he demands. "Do you know what you've done?" He's breathing quickly; he looks furious, disbelieving, and anxious all at once. "I've wasted time looking for you—the moon's nearly up now! We're not there with Moony, he'll tear Snape to shreds! We have to go stop him!"

He doesn't even bother pulling out the Invisibility Cloak. He just sprints down the corridor toward the entrance hall. Peter takes one look at me and then races off after James, though he has no hope of keeping up.

For a moment, the thought of Snivellus being torn to shreds seems like the best thing in the world. I hadn't even thought of that. Getting rid of the nosy git? It would definitely make life easier, and probably make the world a better place.

Then I realize why James is so frantic. It isn't out of any sympathy for Snape—he's worried about Remus. Oh shit... What have I done? I don't know what will happen to Remus if he kills Snape, but I'm certain that it won't be good.

I launch down the hall after James and Peter. I have to get to Moony—if we aren't there, he won't be able to control himself. He won't be in his right mind. He'll kill Snape...

I really don't know what I was thinking anymore. I can't believe I told Snape how to get to the Shrieking Shack—I should have thought it out! Nothing good can come of this. We can't let him get hurt, but if he sees the werewolf, he'll know Remus' secret. And by tomorrow, the entire school will know, too.

What have I done? It echoes through my mind over and over, drowning out the sound of my feet meeting the floor while I run. I pass Peter just before reaching the entrance hall, and an instant later I'm bolting through the doors onto the snow-covered steps that lead up to the castle. The snow all over the grounds is muddied and disturbed with students' footprints, but I can still tell that far too many sets of prints are heading toward the Whomping Willow. Not far ahead, I see James running, his school robes streaming out behind him in sharp contrast to the snow.

James morphs into Prongs, stumbling a few times mid-change before catching his balance and bolting toward the Whomping Willow, his speed almost tripled. I follow suit, changing into Padfoot; I barely manage to keep from falling over as I attempt to run while I'm part dog and part human, but then the change is complete, and I'm bounding toward the tunnel to the Shrieking Shack as fast as I'm able. My breath comes in great pants, my tongue lolling out of my mouth, but I push myself until it feels like my lungs will burst.

I don't bother with trying to freeze the Whomping Willow. I dash straight toward its trunk, diving into the tunnel at its base before it has a chance to swing its branches at me, and then I'm bounding down the dark and dank tunnel. I can hear James ahead, his hoof beats muffled by the dirt ground.