The Prank

He growls and howls. His body boils with blood, and his eyes search for prey in the dark. But there's nothing, only the darkness of the Shrieking Shack. Remus is only a small part in his mind. The beast has taken over long ago; this night is his. His paws reach out to destroy an old bed that is standing near the stairs of the Shack. He wants to hurt someone, to feel their blood running over his claws. But there is nothing. The only thing he is able to do is dig his claws into his own body. Into his arms and legs. Making him bleed like the prey he wants to eat.

Suddenly a crack, sounding like wood breaking, catches his attention. He turns around, making out where the sounds are coming from. And then he sees them. Dark eyes looking through a crack of the Shack. They are wide open, looking at him, filled with anxiety. And a smell of fear moves through the air, coming from the eyes looking at him. He steps closer to the crack, his paws reaching out to catch his prey, but a voice gets his attention.

"Severus!"

The scream of a young boy reaches his ears, and he looks around again. The voice is filled with fear and worry too. He moves away from the crack to make out where the voice is coming from. And when he looks back at the crack, the eyes are gone, and the smell of fear has vanished as well.

Remus woke up. His head hurt, his lips, arms, and legs bled. His hip was filled with bruises. For a moment he just lay there on the floor, with closed eyes, hearing his heavy heartbeat. But then he quickly sat up as the memories of the last night started to fill his mind.

Those eyes.

He knew those eyes. He knew them from looking at Remus in Potions. From staring at Remus in jealousy when he was studying with Lily.

The memory of the voice screaming a name made its way into Remus' mind.

"Severus."

Remus couldn't breathe. He was up on his feet in a second. A line of blood made its way from Remus' knee down his socks. He looked at his clothes. His shirt was slightly ripped, but his trousers were fine, just a bit dirty. He made his way towards the hidden exit of the Shack, to make his way out. Remus smelled the fresh morning air, but he couldn't focus on that. Looking at the sun, it was maybe four or five a.m.

There was still some time.

"Severus?"

He screamed his name in the hope of finding him while he ran up the hill towards Hogwarts.

"Severus?"

Remus' head filled with anxiety. Severus would tell everyone, the whole school would know. Remus would have to leave Hogwarts and leave all his friends behind.

He ran faster. Even though his bruised legs sent waves of pain again and again. He ran towards the garden, entering the halls of Hogwarts. He kept running through the arches and past the classrooms. As Remus entered the Entrance Hall, he could make out a voice coming from the area of the Great Hall.

"Mister Snape, please come down."

Remus sighed. He had finally found him. He stopped running and started to walk around a curve, past a pillar, but he stopped when he saw who was standing with Severus.

Remus hid behind the pillar to listen to their conversation.

"I should calm down? That monster almost killed me!"

Severus said the words full of disgust, and for the first time of his life Remus agreed with Severus. He could've killed him.

"But he didn't."

The answer came from Sirius, who was surprisingly standing next to Severus. Sirius folded his arms over his chest. Remus looked at his face. Something was off. There was some kind of guilt in his eyes, but why?