Illicit | 𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬

Chapter 26

Eleanor looked around her: everything had a blue-silvery tone to it. It was magical.

Then they were off, Peter upfront so he could warn them with a squeak when someone was coming. Eleanor found it very uncomfortable walking underneath the Cloak like that. She constantly bumped into Sirius because he wasn't keeping the right pace.

When they finally reached the statue, James checked to see if anyone would see them and then gave the statue's shoulder a tap. It opened up and the four of them went inside. James pulled off the cloak immediately.

"We'll put it back on again when we get outside," he said, running a hand through his hair to try and fix it. Sirius was doing the same thing. Luckily, Eleanor had put her hair up into a bun before they left.

"Sure, but it would be nice if someone didn't step on my heels the whole bloody time," Sirius said, glaring at Eleanor.

Eleanor's mouth hung open. "It's not my fault you can't walk properly!" she uttered.

He crossed her arms over his chest. "Oh please, if you-"

"Shut up! Both of you!" James said angrily. "This is not the time for your bloody hormones to act up, we've got more important things to do." He sighed and mumbled a quick 'Lumos' before making his way down the dark tunnel. Peter followed him immediately, not wanting to be left in the dark.

"Lumos," Eleanor said softly. Sirius had his hands in his pocket and was looking down at his feet.

"M'sorry-"

"Don't," she cut him off with a frown. "James is right." She turned on her heels and hurried along after the others.

It didn't take long before James, Eleanor and Sirius had to cover themselves with the Cloak again to walk the last couple of hundred meters to the Whomping Willow.

They could've just turned right then and there outside, but to prevent people from randomly seeing a stag, a dog and a wolf enter a tree, they thought it would be better to just be invisible.

When they reached the Whomping Willow in all its aggressive glory, Peter the rat leaped forward and touched the knot on the tree which made it stop moving. Peter immediately went inside the hole at the foot of the tree, probably because he was scared it would start moving again. Eleanor smiled to herself, so far everything was going according to plan. James took off the Cloak.

"Let's get in first and then transform, I don't know if the smell of people does anything to him," James said, mostly looking at Eleanor for help.

"I-I don't know, father was always with him but I have no idea what he was like in our basement," she said. James nodded.

They crawled into the tunnel and decided they would turn right then and there. James put the Invisibility Cloak in the corner with his wand, as did Sirius. Eleanor still had to use her wand to transfigure; she hadn't practiced enough. Almost immediately James and Sirius turned into their Animagus forms. James' antlers scraped along the walls as he continued through the tunnel. Sirius sat down and looked up at Eleanor, probably waiting for her to turn as well.

She put her wand against her head and thought deeply. Eleanor then smiled as she felt herself shape into her wolf-from. Her senses were heightened immediately, a foul smell was coming from the way they were headed. Her nose twitched involuntarily.

"You smell him too?" Sirius asked.

Eleanor nodded. The two then also continued down the long, narrow passageway. It took them a long time, but eventually, the tunnel started to go up. Judging by the hoove marks, James and Peter were already there. Eleanor and Sirius climbed up until they felt a raw wooden floor underneath their paws.