Among The Stars --- Remus Lupin

•six•

Ara spent the rest of her classes planning her adventure. She played the conversation with the boys over and over in her head to try and understand how to get through the hole in the base of the Whomping Willow. Ara figured she should leave before dark, that way she didn't have to be there when Remus turned. She faked an illness in Transfiguration and McGonagall let her go, not before giving her a pile of homework.

As Ara walked to the common room to gather supplies, she realized that she might be seen. Remembering that James had an invisibility cloak somewhere, she sneaked up to the boys' dormitories.

If boy's tried to climb the stairs leading to the girl's rooms the staircase turned into a slide. Apparently they hadn't figured out that girl's could just as easily go up the staircase to the boy's beds.

Once she reached the top of the staircase she peered around the corner, ensuring that no one was there. Ara tiptoed into the sixth year's room and assessed the messy beds. Only one bed was made and on the bedside table was a wobbly pile of books. Remus.

Ara quickly located James' bed. There was a wrinkled quidditch uniform thrown over the headboard. The sheets and blankets sat on the floor in a messy pile. An opened letter from Lily Evans was shoved under the pillow. Ara looked under the bed and found a burlap bag with a small hole in the bottom. Inside the bag was a melted chocolate frog (which let out a strangled croak), some used Filibuster's Fireworks, a pack of Exploding Snaps cards, and the invisibility cloak.

The cloak was a mysterious piece of fabric. It felt cool and smooth to the touch, almost like holding water. The fabric itself was transparent and it shimmered in the light. Ara did a simple spell to fix the hole in the bag (as a thanks to James) and threw the cloak over her head. She looked in the mirror to only see the room behind her, and with a squeal of glee she bounded off towards the Whomping Willow.

The blonde girl found no trouble in the halls. Peeves floated by her, muttering evilly, but he didn't notice the quiet sound of footsteps. When Ara stepped outside she was careful to step on rocks or beaten down grass, so as not to leave footprints. Worry filled her head as she got closer and closer to the tree.

The Whomping Willow was huge. Its spiked branched waved threateningly at her, almost daring her to try and get past it. Ara decided she should try and catch it by surprise. She turned around dramatically and walked away from the tree. Out of the corner of her eye she saw it relax its defensive stance. Ara whipped around quickly and charged towards the tree. It took a minute for the willow to pull back its heavy branches, and when Ara saw the hole she thought she had made it. A branch swung down and knocked her right off her feet, almost taking the cloak with it. Ara landed on her back grasping the cloak in one hand.

Well, that didn't go so well, she thought.

Ara lay on her back, staring at the sky. The tree's leaves shook, as if laughing at her. She pulled the invisibility cloak over her and rolled over on to her knees. She crawled towards the hole in the tree, and when she was three feet away she jumped up and threw herself towards it. The tree tried to hit her with a branch, but she swerved out of the way and dived into the hole.

The tunnel was pitch black. Ara stood in the shadows and tried to catch her breath. She pulled out the flashlight she had packed in her bag and stowed the invisibility cloak away. The flashlight turned on with a click and the warm yellow light ate away the darkness. The tunnel led straight ahead so she followed the dusty path, shining the light over the pebbled ground. Her legs began to grow tired and she was considering turning back, when she saw a pale light ahead. A spark of excitement burst within her and she jogged towards the source. As she approached it, she could make out a wooden ladder. Ara grabbed onto the rungs and climbed to the top.