The Marauders Year Five Part 2 #Wattys2017

How We Ended Up Here

How We Ended Up Here

Albus Dumbledore ran up the path from Hogsmeade with Peter Pettigrew panting along behind him. Peter was flushed in the face and came to an abrupt halt when he found the scene before the Shack. Fabian and Gideon Prewett stood back a ways, wands raised, as Newt Scamander stood before them with his wide open briefcase directly behind him, clumsily rolling about on the ground, letting out great guffaws and snorts as the erumpent - huge and lumpy with her great glowing horn - stared at him with her beady little eyes.

Tina Scamander approached them, clutching a wriggling, growling, snapping little ball to her chest, great clawed paws swiping up at her from within. Her eyes were wide and fearful, "Oh thank heavens, Mr. Dumbledore, you're here!" she said hurriedly, her voice quavering with worry, "I'm afraid something terrible's happening - in the Shack, please come quickly!"

Tearing his eyes from the altogether fascinating display of Newt Scamander capturing the erumpent in the yard, Dumbledore turned and swiftly followed after Tina as she led the way back into the dusty old Shack, stepping carefully over the debris that were the front door wall. There came a crash upstairs and Dumbledore glanced up them curiously before stepping 'round the broken beams and plaster.

They came into the living room just as James Potter was pulling an unconscious Severus Snape up from the tunnel through the trapdoor. James dropped Severus's prone body onto the wood floor and dropped down himself, breathing hard, a cut across his cheek, his robes torn and oxford stained horribly across his chest with dirt and grass... his hair a mess, stuck through with a few twigs from the Whomping Willow. Sirius Black came up behind him, his face blotchy and tear stained amongst the dust and dirt patches that covered it. He quickly closed the trap door behind him.

"Dumbledore," he breathed the name, seeing the man before him.

James turned to look, wincing at the sharp pain that went through his ribs.

Tina clutched Bradley as he wriggled, letting out little yipping howls as he struggled. "Where're Remus?" her voice was laced with heavy fear.

"Down there," Sirius replied, "Probably just waking up. James got him with a pretty good stunner."

James nodded.

Dumbledore stepped forward quickly, looking Severus Snape over, then glancing between James and Sirius for a moment. His eyes turned to Tina. "Poppy should be just about arriving, please show her in, Mrs. Scamander."

"Yes sir," Tina nodded and she hurried out of the Shack.

Dumbledore looked between the boys again. "What happened here?"

"Snape was coming to see the werewolf," James said quickly, cutting off Sirius before he could confess to anything at all. "I heard about it and I came to stop him from getting killed."

Dumbledore hesitated, "Who else knows about this?"

"Just us and Peter Pettigrew, sir," James replied.

"Did Severus Snape see the werewolf?" Dumbledore questioned.

"Only briefly... it was dark... and he... he sort of hit his head on a root in the tunnel, s'what made him pass out," James answered.

Sirius was staring at his hands.

"And what part did Mr. Black play?"

James was silent.

"I told him how to get in."

James closed his eyes, not wanting Sirius to tell Dumbledore, not wanting his friend to get in trouble. Sure, Sirius had done wrong... but it had been for good reasons, and he'd been through quite enough already, hadn't he? But that would be quite the hard thing to explain to an adult who did not fully know the politics of the situation at hand.