Forever and a Day ~ James Potter

A Blanket, Chocolate Bar and Fruit Pastel

Chapter Twenty-Nine

19:47

Remus and Rosie stayed in the Three Broomsticks for the rest of the afternoon, indulging in the fact that people kept on whispering about their kiss earlier on. Eventually, Rosie bought Remus the largest hot chocolate that was available, and he was considerably happier after drinking it up.

It was about half past three when Remus said he had to go to the Hospital Wing in time for the sunset. It took much longer to get back than it did to arrive, seeing as Remus had become considerably weaker during the day, and so Rosie had to help him hobble down to the carriages.

She was now sat curled up by her regular seat in the window with a book, irritated that Remus hadn't let her help him up to the Hospital Wing, and so was watching the Whomping Willow to see if she could spot any of the Marauders.

Sure enough, Madam Pomfrey marched Remus down to the roots of the tree, and they disappeared, but she came back alone ten minutes later.

As soon as she was out of eyesight, Rosie spotted Peter removing the invisibility cloak and transforming into his Animagus form, quickly followed by a grinning James and Sirius, who followed suit. All three of them disappeared into the tree, and Rosie closed the book, looking away from the glass and remembering that nothing else would happen for the rest of the night.

She stood up and sighed, knowing that what she was about to do was incredibly stupid...

She picked up her shoes from the floor and grabbed a blanket from one of the armchairs, clambering out of the portrait hole and through the cold corridors of the castle. She had to take a very convoluted root in order to avoid the Prefects, Professors and Mrs Norris or Filch, but eventually, she walked out onto the path leading down to the giant tree.

It was freezing cold, so she hurriedly wrapped the blanket around herself and walked over to the Whomping Willow, glancing up at the castle every few seconds to check that no one was watching. She stayed at a safe distance while she pondered how to stop the branches from moving.

Peter had said there was a knot on the tree, so she lifted her wand and whispered, "Lumos," as she scanned it quickly. She saw it almost immediately and decided it would be sensible to levitate a stick to touch it rather than reaching over with her hand.

So, concentrating, she managed to push a large stick against the knot and watched as the swaying branches froze on the spot. Rosie decided to dash towards the roots before the tree started swinging again and also to make sure no one saw her skulking about suspiciously.

She slid down into a dark, dirt tunnel and brushed herself off before lighting her wand. She couldn't see the end of it even with her wand light, so she decided to carry on walking, hoping that 'Moony' hadn't been let loose in these tunnels.

It had been about ten minutes, and Rosie was still walking, huffing as she felt the path begin to climb uphill – though she hoped this meant she was nearing wherever it was she was going. Finally, she reached a small set of dirt steps, which she climbed up, and reached a wooden door. Hesitantly, she pushed it open, and it creaked loudly, but the wolf was nowhere to be seen, so she closed the door behind herself and looked around.

She had arrived in some sort of abandoned house and frowned when she tried to think of the location. Was it underground?

No, Rosie spotted a thick pair of curtains and crept over to open them, looking out at the view. It was difficult to see due to the grime, but she could make out the unmistakable lampposts of Hogsmeade village.

"What on..." she trailed off and gasped when she realised where she was. "The Shrieking Shack. I'm in the Shrieking Shack!" She smacked her hand over her mouth, hoping nobody had heard her, and looked around the place.