TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES by InFabula

Disclaimer: JK owns these wonderful characters: I just borrowed them for a bit.

Chapter One: Black Thoughts

"Detention!"

Remus jumped as the door to the Gryffindor Common Room was flung open and slammed shut. Outside, he could imagine the Fat Lady bouncing out of her portrait. The noise scattered the first years gathered near the window and the sight of Sirius, face like a thundercloud, with Peter twittering in his wake, was enough to disperse the few remaining Gryffindors and leave the room empty apart from the three Marauders.

Looking up from the armchair in which he was curled, Remus gave a wry smile. "You certainly know how to make an entrance, Padfoot."

"Detention!" Sirius repeated with disgust. "That snake, Snape-" Sirius broke off, picked up a heavy book from a pile on the table beside Remus and hurled it against the wall.

This January, tensions between the Marauders and Snape had been running at an all-time high with curses flying through the air on a daily basis. Sighing, Remus stood up and reclaimed the book. "Snape's responsible for landing you in detention?" he hazarded.

There was a loud snort from Sirius accompanied by an angry low muttering in which "Not me!" could be clearly heard. Remus turned to Peter for explanation. "What happened?"

Peter cleared his throat. "It was most unfortunate-"

"Unfortunate!" Sirius roared.

"We were crossing the quad-" Peter tried again.

"He planned it!" Sirius was beside himself. "He knew- ow! What was that for?" Remus had punched him hard on the shoulder.

"Let Peter do the talking!"

From Peter's account, interspersed with a few more explosive interruptions from Sirius, Remus gathered that Snape had made a point of confronting the three of them.

"He started to talk about Mudbloods in the school - well, you know how that gets Prongs going. He hexed him-"

"Fully justified!"

"It was a Rhinopolis Curse - you know, to make your nose grow bigger-"

"As if that's possible with Snivellus!"

"And Snape stepped to one side and Professor Flitwick was right behind him-"

"Which he knew, of course!"

"Flitwick got it full in the face and he gave James double detention!" Peter finished in a breathless rush.

"Poor old Prongs," Remus remarked. "Still, detention from Flitwick won't be too harsh-"

"But it's tonight! Tonight!" Anguish and anger battled for supremacy on Sirius's face.

Understanding dawned. "Well, it'll just mean I'm a lonely werewolf," Remus said lightly.

"All month we've been looking forward – Snape! He just knew--! If I could get my hands--!" Incoherent rage seized him once more until he caught sight of Remus's raised eyebrows. He acknowledged the mild reproof at his lack of self-control and with difficulty bit back on the fury inside him. He sat down heavily in an armchair and sighed. "I'm sorry, Moony, it's just it won't be the same without James."

Remus nodded slowly. "I'll miss him…I'll miss all of you."

"Exactly," Sirius agreed, then looked sharply at his friend. "What do you mean?"

"Without Prongs there, it will be too dangerous for you and Peter to accompany me." He held up a hand to ward off Sirius's objections. "It would be the same if it were you in detention, Padfoot. Just accept this is one month where the Marauders won't be roaming abroad."

"You're joking!" The anger rose in Sirius again.

"But, Moony," Peter ventured, "could't we-?"

"No," Remus said firmly. "I'm not taking any chances where the wolf is concerned. Goodness knows, we take enough risks when James is with us. Without him there...well, it's not up for discussion."

Sirius opened his mouth to protest further and Remus said quickly: "I mean it, Padfoot. Promise me, both of you, you'll stay out of the Willow tonight."

"All right," Peter agreed reluctantly, glancing at Sirius who sat glaring at Remus.

"Padfoot?" Unblinking, he met Sirius's angry gaze. "Will you give me your word--"

"As a Black?" Sirius's eyes flashed. "As an honourable, pureblood Black?"

"I was going to say "as a Gryffindor"," Remus said evenly.

Licking his lips, Peter looked from one to the other as the silence grew unbearable, then:

"Very well!" The words ripped out of Sirius.

The light from the dying sun washed over the Hogwarts corridors as Remus walked towards the hospital wing, going over the conversation with his friends in his head. After he had extracted the promise, Sirius had barely said two words to him. He knew he was right to insist that he be by himself for the change but that had not made it any easier for him to say no to Sirius: Sirius liked having his own way.

He sighed. No doubt, over the next few days, Padfoot would make life uncomfortable for him. Already, Remus could hear the coldness in his tone and see him whispering asides to James. No matter that the real object of Sirius's anger was Snape, Remus had a feeling that he too would be punished.

It occurred to him that Sirius might yet transform and join him at the Shack but he dismissed the thought immediately. Sirius had given his word as a Gryffindor, and however galling he might find it to stay away from the Willow, Remus felt confident he would not break that.

Back in the Common Room, Sirius remained sulking in the armchair, while Peter tried in vain to cheer him up.

"Whichever way you look at it, Wormtail," Sirius scowled, " Snape has a lot to answer for."

"Always sneaking after us," Peter agreed, "trying to find out what we're up to. Very interested in Moony's monthly absences of course."

"Mmm," Sirius murmured. He grabbed a poker and started stoking up the fire. The flames lit up his face and made it seem harder than usual: all flippancy had vanished and although Sirius would have been mortified to hear it, he was at that moment the image of his father.

"That Snape," Peter carried on, "such a slimeball. He needs a good lesson."

Sirius started to nod to himself and, emboldened, Peter continued:

"We could charm his Potions book so that all the recipes were mixed up or better still, transfigure the book so that he can't find it..."

He chattered on, outlining further ideas, misreading Sirius's silence as attentiveness. In actual fact, Sirius had stopped listening in detail to Peter some time previously: he was busy thinking about his own plan of retribution.

"...we could plant Dungbombs in Snape's bed..."

"That's it!" Sirius exclaimed, sitting upright.

"The Dungbombs?" Peter looked taken aback then reddened with pleasure. It was rare that one of his suggestions of mischief was accepted. "It's Hogsmeade next weekend. I can go to Zonko's--"

"Forget Zonko's," Sirius said irritably. He leaned forward in the chair, eyes gleaming. "This is what we're going to do."

It was easier than Sirius had thought to find Snape. He came scuttling out of his Advanced Potions tutorial, books under one arm, parchment under the other, then stopped deadwhen he saw Sirius waiting for him in the corridor. Dropping both books and parchment, he started to reach for his wand but Sirius moved forward, his hands outstretched, empty and placating.

"What is it, Black?" Snape's voice was ripe with suspicion. He pressed his back against the classroom door and his eyes darted around the corridor, searching for signs of an ambush.

Moving forward till he was within arm's length of Snape, Sirius gave his best impersonation of a winning smile and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms.

"Bit of a cowardly trick you pulled on James, Snivellus."

Snape's fingers tightened on his wand. "He aimed that hex at me. Detention was the least he deserved."

Sirius let the remark go.

"Peter and I have been having an argument, Snape," he began. "We were wondering how brave you really are. I mean, neither of us hasa very high opinion of you, of course, but you know that."

Snape's eyes narrowed as Sirius continued: "We've made a little bet between us as to how far you would go to discover a secret."

"What secret?"

"The truth behind the Whomping Willow. There's a hidden entrance, you see. You push a certain knot on its trunk and the branches freeze and you can enter…." Sirius shrugged. "We've all been in loads of times but Peter and I were wondering if you had the nerve. Personally, I said you wouldn't get past the branches without wetting yourself." The fixed smile reached his eyes and became quite genuine.

Snape bristled with indignation. "I have as much courage as the next wizard!" he spluttered.

"Well, that would be Remus, then," Sirius said softly, waiting for him to take the bait.

"Lupin?"

Sirius was pleased to see bewilderment creeping overSnape's face.

"Go and have a look, Snivellus," he challenged. "If you dare." He turned away from Snape and walked off, hoping that the Slytherin's aroused curiosity would keep him from hurling a curse at his unprotected back.

As he approached the end of the corridor, he stopped and risked a backwards glance. Snape was nowhere to be seen. Running full pelt to one of the top floor windows, he looked down over the surrounding hillside. In the fast-failing dusklight, a black-robed figure was making its way towards the Willow: the angular gait could only belong to Snape. At once, Sirius felt his ire melt away to be replaced with grim satisfaction.

His mood improved further when he arrived back at the Gryffindor Common Room to find James sitting in the same armchair he himself had vacated not fifteen minutes earlier, with Peter at his feet.

"Prongs! How come you're here?" Sirius punched his arm with delight and then dropped into the facing chair.

James shrugged in his usual laid-back manner. "You know Flitwick - he hates to give detentions. Always feels guilty about it. I put on a sad and sorry look and he lasted about half an hour before he melted and sent me away. Of course, getting top marks for the last essay he set may have had something to do with it." He looked around casually to check there were no eavesdroppers, then in a low voice said: "Bad luck for old Moony, though. The first time we haven't been with him since - well, since we could. How did he take it?"

"He was great about it, wasn't he, Sirius?" Peter volunteered. "I mean he looked disappointed but you know how he is…"

"Yeah, stoic." Sirius supplied.

"That's it, stoic!" Peter nodded vehemently. Sirius and James exchanged amused glances, both convinced that Peter had never heard of the word before but that he would look it up and then proceed to drop it into everyday conversation over the next few weeks. It was a habit of his and sometimes to divert themselves, they would dangle words on purpose, ignoring Remus shaking his head at them, then count the number of times they heard Peter use them.

"Blast Snape," James said with feeling. "If it wasn't for him, we'd be out Marauding. Moony could do with our company too," he added as an afterthought, "to keep the wolf at bay." He looked sideways at Sirius. "Come on, Padfoot, spill."

Sirius arched an eyebrow and tried to looked innocent.

"You've had about an hour to dream up a suitable revenge for Snivellus. Out with it."

"Thought it up?" Peter squeaked. "It's already underway!"

He was silenced by an annoyed look from Sirius who had wanted to build up the suspense further.

Seeing James's quizzical stare, Sirius gave in and leaned forward conspiratorially: James did the same. "I've given him the biggest fright of his life," Sirius grinned. "I told him how to get underthe Whomping Willow!"

The look of eager anticipation drained from James's face. "You told Snape…" he shook his head as if he had not heard correctly. "He's in the tunnel…?"

"How far do you think he'll get, Prongs?" Peter chortled. "I reckon he won't get further than halfway before-"

"Shut up, Peter!" James's tone was one of barely controlled anger. He stared at Sirius again, looking for signs that his friend was having him on. The way Sirius suddenly shifted his gaze convinced James he was sincere.

"Oh, Sirius, what have you done?" he breathed.

Sirius fidgeted in the chair. "It's just to give Snape a scare," he said by way of excuse. "He'll turn back long before…"

"Suppose he doesn't? Suppose he reaches the end of the tunnel?"

"I wouldn't have thought Snivellus mattered to you so much!" Sirius went on the offensive.

James took a deep breath, fighting to control his temper. "How can you be so obtuse? You're right, myself, I wouldn't grieve if Snape met his end down there tonight but somehow I don't think Remus would ever get over it."

Sirius sat like stone in guilty horror. He had been so eager to get back at Snape, he hadn't even considered Remus.

"Maybe he didn't go into the tunnel at all - I mean we don't know for certain," Peter gabbled, trying to defuse the sudden tension.

James shot him a withering look. "Snape pass up an opportunity like this? Not likely!"

Sirius's face betrayed him. "What is it?" James snapped.

"He's in there," Sirius said in a low voice. "I saw him heading down the hill."

James stood up. "I'm going to get him out!"

Sirius rose also. "I'm coming with you. It's my mess - I need to clear it up."

"But you promised Remus you wouldn't go in the tunnel," Peter said. "I promised too," he added hurriedly.

"No," James said firmly, as if Peter hadn't spoken. "I can move faster under the Invisibility Cloak on my own. Besides, if Snape's hiding in there it will be as much as I can do to persuade him to show himself to me. If he sees both of us, he'll never come out."

He turned to the window. The full moon shone clear in the night sky. He turned back to Sirius whose face was ashen. "Consequences, Sirius, you never think about the damn consequences."

Fortunately for James, the journey to the Willow was uneventful. The night was cloudless and James thought the moonlit tree looked as foreboding as it was supposed to: how long had Snape stood there out of reach of the branches before plucking up the courage to enter? Ignoring the thrashing limbs, James shrugged off the Invisibility Cloak, grabbed a long stick, pushed the knot and slipped in between the roots.

Inside, it took his eyes a few seconds to adjust to the darkness. Normally, he had transformed into Prongs at this stage, carefully following Wormtail and Padfoot along the narrow passage. He had considered turning into the stag tonight but had decided against it. Sounds of a deer galloping down the tunnel behind him would surely push Snape on toward the Shrieking Shack.

"Severus?" he called out, his enemy's true name sounding strange on his tongue. "Severus, it's James." There was no answer, not that he had really expected one. Snape was not going to come out easily.

"Lumos." His wand tip flared. He started to jog quickly up the tunnel, careful to avoid the tree roots strewn across his path. The route had been designed to be as awkward and narrow as possible for a reason: werewolves would not go willingly into confined spaces. Once he was in the Shrieking Shack and transformed, it was only with his friends' help that Remus had been able to convince his other self that freedom lay at the end.

James tried to imagine how Snape was finding the tunnel. It was, as Peter had remarked after their first ever venture into it, "bloody frightening". Any other Hogwarts student might have turned back, James thought, but Snape's curiosity was legendary. Especially when the prize for negotiating this eerie obstacle course was the truth about Lupin. Suddenly, a muffled howl filled the air. James ran.

Further down the tunnel, the howl was louder and less muffled. Heart beating wildly, Snape pressed his body up against the cold, earth wall and swallowed hard. It had sounded like…he shook his head. There was no way Hogwarts would tolerate a Dark Creature living so close to the students. He peered ahead but could see nothing but gloom. There was no telling how much further the tunnel went. He swallowed again and drew in a deep breath to steady himself. He contemplated retreat back to the safety of the Slytherin dormitory but just as quickly dismissed it. Part of him suspected that Black had set him up somehow. Yes, he decided, it was quite possible that this was all one scary joke and that the Gryffindors were back at the Willow entrance, laughing and waiting for him to come running out. He refused to give them the satisfaction.

In any case, Lupin was surely somewhere up ahead of him. Snape had seen him escorted to the Whomping Willow by Madam Pomfrey (a puzzle in itself); had watched him press the knot on the tree; had seen him enter this tunnel. He was certain he had not doubled back. He licked his lips and pressed on, lit wand held out in front of him. The unearthly howl came again, louder this time and definitely closer. Snape froze once more. He squinted. There seemed to be a light at the end of the darkness. He edged a little further forward until he could make out a doorway. It appeared to lead into a room or a hall. Was this where Lupin was hiding? There was a long continuous howl accompanied by thumps and bumps as if someone or something were hurling themselves at walls and floors.

Every wizarding instinct kept Snape away from the entrance. He could almost smell the danger. "Lupin?" he called out. "You may as well come out. I'm not setting foot in there, so whatever mischief you and Black and the others are planning, you can forget it. Lupin?"

The howling broke off and Snape started to back away down the tunnel. There was a sound like slippered footsteps running down a staircase - not footsteps, Snape thought, more like paws…a large cat or a…His eyes opened wide and he forgot how to breathe.

Framed in the doorway was a huge, grey wolf. Werewolf, Snape thought automatically, look at the shape of the snout and the tufted tail.… The animal showed its teeth and coiled its body, preparing to pounce.Where was Lupin? another part of Snape wondered. Had he already been eaten by this werewolf? This werewolf who was...

"Lupin…" Snape breathed. At that moment, the werewolf launched itself forward. Snape turned and fled in a blind panic, colliding as he did so with a large tree root in the ceiling. His head shot back and he collapsed to the ground, certain he was about to die. As he fell, he was aware of something leaping over his body towards the wolf and then oblivion claimed him.

As Prongs, James had quickly calculated that he could not afford to be gentle with Remus. The wolf had scented prey and its primal instincts would be screaming through its body. Wherever Remus disappeared to during transformation, his influence would be non-existent compared to the pull of the wild within the beast. Putting his head down, he charged the werewolf, praying that he would get this right: enough force to stop the creature, not enough to maim his friend.

The werewolf had been concentrating on Snape; James's attack caught it off-guard and before it had time to react, it was caught on the stag's antlers and hurled through the air. Its body slammed into the side of the tunnel and it dropped, dazed, onto its paws. Before it could ready itself for a counter-attack, the stag was on it again. This time, the werewolf hit the wall of the Shrieking Shack hard. It slumped to the floor and did not move.

The stagapproached it warily, then spotted blood on its muzzle and saw that one of its forepaws was twisted back at an awkward angle. At once, the stag was gone and, in its place, stood James. He knelt down and stretched out a trembling hand to the animal's neck, sighing with relief when he found a firm pulse. He hesitated about examining the injured paw, not wanting the wolf to wake. Then he told himself not to be so cowardly; after all, this was still Remus. He gingerly ran his hand over the fur, feeling for the bone. A small whimper made him stop but the wolf did not stir. Heart in mouth, he carried on, pressing lightly. To his surprise and relief, the injury did not seem as bad as it had looked.

He gently stroked the wolf's pelt. Until he had met Remus, he had been as guilty as anyone of thinking of werewolves purely as monsters. The fact that he had come to know and like the boy with the wolf buried inside him had forced him to rethink his attitude. "Poor Moony," he whispered. "Life just never gets any easier for you, does it?"

Satisfying himself that Remus would wake up, albeit with a few more bruises than usual, James went back into the tunnel and turned his attention to Snape. As he studied the unconscious Slytherin, James's mouth twisted into a grim line. There would be no silencing Snape, of that he was sure. The story would be all over Hogwarts by lunchtime.

He retrieved Snape's wand from the floor of the tunnel then bent down and caught hold of Snape's robes. His fingers closed around the coarse fabric and he hauled him upright. A flailing arm dislodged his glasses and James swore. He dropped Snape none too gently and replaced them, then reached down and hoisted him across his shoulders, grunting with effort as he did so. Although Snape was by no means heavy, his dead weight made him awkward to handle. The smell of stale sweat overwhelmed him and he gagged. "Do you never take a bath, Snivellus?" he muttered. Struggling with his unwelcome burden, he started back towards the Willow's entrance all the time turning over in his mind how they would ever be able toshut Snape up.

No fail-safe idea had presented itself by the time he had reached the end of the tunnel. He let Snape slip to the floor in a heap so that he could freezethe Willow: only then did he realise the tree was not moving. Sirius! He and Peter must have followed him down!

"Padfoot? Wormtail?" He called as he climbed awkwardly out of the base of the tree, pulling Snape after him.

"Neither, James."

The quiet answer made his heart skip a beat. It was Dumbledore.

"Professor--" he began but Dumbledore held up a hand to silence him.

"Poppy." Dumbledore beckoned forwardMadam Pomfrey,who conjured a stretcher and levitated Snape ontoit.

"Professor Dumbledore--" James tried again.

"Mr Potter," Dumbledore interrupted, his voice colder than James had ever heard it. "I have two questions and an instruction for you. First, did Severus receive a bite?"

James shook his head and it seemed to him that Dumbledore imperceptibly relaxed.

"And how is Remus?"

"Unconscious," James admitted. Seeing Madam Pomfrey start, he said quickly: "I don't think he's badly hurt. His paw is twisted - I mean his wrist," he corrected himself before adding by way of reassurance: "but I checked his pulse and it's strong."

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "In that case, James, you will proceed immediately to your dormitory and you will please inform Mr Black and Mr Pettigrew that I expect to see the three of you in my study at eight o'clocktomorrow morning."

As Madam Pomfrey took her patient off to the hospital wing, James walked with Dumbledore, in silence, up the hill to the castle. Several times, James opened his mouth to begin a conversation but Dumbledore's manner made it clear that he was not in the mood to discuss the matter. As they reached the Fat Lady's portrait, Dumbledore finally spoke:

"Good night, James, I'll see you in the morning. And Mr Potter…I'm sure I hardly need say that it would be unwise for you or your friends to plan another visit to the Willow tonight."

Sirius and Peter were, of course, waiting for him.

"How did it go?" an anxious Peter wanted to know.

"Did you see Remus?" Sirius asked urgently.

"Upstairs, both of you," James sighed. "I'll tell you everything."