The Marauders: Year Three | #Wattys2016

Challenging a Werewolf

Challenging a Werewolf

They sat on the floor in the Shrieking Shack playing tic-tac-toe in the dust on the floor and laughing, snacking on crackers and jerky from Remus's overnight bag. Sirius made Remus laugh for hours on end doing impressions of the teachers - McGonagall's high chinned Scottish accent and Slughorn's jovial belly-roll laughter and Veigler's over excitement for bloody everything. Sirius even did a very good impression of Dumbledore, pretending to rub his fingers over a long beard and rocking on the balls of his feet as he spouted off strings of nonsense in a wise tone. Remus clapped at that one as Sirius sat back down, laughing, "Hope he never finds out I've done that," he said.

As though on cue it seemed, the locks on the front door of the shack began to click and turn and Remus's eyes widened, "Blimey - Dumbledore. Hide."

Sirius looked about, but the shack was pretty void of furnishings and so he quickly dove for the trapdoor, dropping into the tunnel and closing it behind him. He realized quite fast why this could very well be a mistake. Just because Dumbledore was coming in through the front door didn't necessarily mean he would plan to leave that way. He pressed himself to the wall and tried to think of a reason he could be there that wouldn't sound positively mad or get him into trouble. He thought briefly of running back to the castle - if he started now he might make it before Dumbledore, surely that old man couldn't run fast enough to catch up to Sirius - but then he wouldn't be there for Rey... and that wasn't an option.

"Well hello there, Mr. Lupin," Dumbledore's voice echoed through the shack and Sirius could hear it even in the tunnel.

"Hello Professor," Remus answered.

"I must confess, I'm surprised to find you out here," Dumbledore said, "I didn't expect you'd have been able to manage with your crutches in the tunnel alone."

"It was rough, but I left early," Remus said honestly, omitting only the fact that Sirius had half carried him the whole way.

Dumbledore nodded, "Very good. When I couldn't find you about the castle, I thought I'd check on you to see... and here you are!"

"Here I am!" Remus answered, sounding a bit squeakier than usual. He didn't lie very well and he lied even worse to Dumbledore and Sirius worried that Dumbledore would grow suspicious with the way Remus sounded.

Dumbledore held up a bag. "I stopped by in Hogsmeade and thought I'd bring you a bit of a warm meal," he said, "As an apology for not being in time to help you get out here." He put the bag down on the table, "I thought you might like to eat before the evening's activities."

"Thank you sir," Remus said, thinking how odd the phrase the evening's activities was, considering what the evening's activities actually entailed.

"You're most welcome." Dumbledore stood there for a moment and - Remus had to bite his lips - he rubbed his hands over his beard and rocked himself on the balls of his feet as he looked around the shack. "One day perhaps we'll look back on this little shack and it won't be such a dismal place after all," he said.

Remus looked around. He had a feeling this place would always be the most dismal place on earth, aside from maybe Sirius's house, the way he described it. "Perhaps," Remus answered, thinking that Sirius's detail of nonsensical wisdom had been pretty dead on in his impression of Dumbledore, too.

Dumbledore nodded around the place some more, ignoring the perplexed expression on Remus's face. "Indeed... it's not what's there when we arrive but what we put into a place that really makes it what it ought to be..." he smiled at Remus, then took a deep breath, "Well, it's nearly moonrise, which means we've both a myriad things to do. Do you wish for me to return in the morning to help you back to the castle or do you think you can manage?"