The Marauders: Year Two | #Wattys2016

Something Black in the Woods

James tapped his wand to his nose, "Muture magus humanus," he murmured and with a crack the horns he'd had disappeared and he sat up quickly to look over at Peter. "Hey now, why are you pointing fingers at me? It could've been any of us that shook them during the last month at school, we had them in all our separate trunks. If you notice my potion is working better than yours."

"Sirius's isn't working either!" Peter said quickly, defensively.

"Stop fighting you lot," Sirius interrupted, "It doesn't matter whose fault it is or any of that, alright? I don't really care. I just want to fix it as quickly as possible. We've gone and told Remus that we're working on something and told him we'd tell him after summer, so we need to bloody get this working as quick as possible! This is why I didn't want to include him in on this at all..."

James sighed and laid down across the couch, "Can't we please take a nap at least first and then we'll figure it out much better with our brains fully functional?"

Sirius shook his head, "I'm not sleeping until I figure it out. You can though."

Peter didn't need to be told twice. He hastened to go get his pyjamas.

James closed his eyes. "Maybe we're pronouncing the spell wrong," he murmured.

Sirius doubted it. He stared down at the book, certain there was something he was overlooking...

Early morning sunlight glowed through the room of the tent. Sirius stretched, having fallen asleep on the floor by the table, where he'd been up reading all night. His spine felt stiff in that I-didn't-sleep-in-bed sort of way and he moved his head side to side to stretch his neck, eyes still closed against the sunlight.

He could smell something funny, but he wasn't sure what it was. He sniffed the air a bit, moving his nose to follow the smell, which seemed to be moving and alive. He opened his eyes and looked around. The tent was just so bright, he could hardly see - it all seemed strangely pale. But that smell, though... man, that smell was strong...

He heard a twig crack and spun his head about to look at the doorway of the tent, listening, heart racing.

He leaped up and rushed to the door of the tent without really thinking about it, bursting through to the leaves and looking around the trees. There wasn't anything out there that could've made the sound... unless something (or someone) was hiding somewhere 'round the tent? He sniffed the air... the ground... moving slowly into the trees, searching... though he didn't know what for. Just something.

"Sirius? Are you out here?" James's voice was loud, even though Sirius had wandered some way away through the trees.

"Is he out there?" Peter asked.

"I don't see him. I thought I heard him go out, though." James sighed. "He's going mad over this stupid book. I dunno what to do. I wish it had worked."

"Well, I mean, at least you can get your antlers," Peter said, "I can't do anything at all. What's the secret to it? I want some antlers."

"I dunno why I can," James said.

Sirius stood between the trees, listening to them, his head cocked just a bit. Then he heard another snap in the trees behind him and he turned around quickly. A flash of something black caught his eyes and he hastened to turn again... and again... and again... Frustration started to build in him. He could see it, just out of the corner of his eyes, whatever it was, and it kept moving around him, hastening ot stay out of his sight. He decided to fake it out - turning the opposite direction than before but no - it was still there, still moving just out of sight.