BLACK MOON ⍋ Remus Lupin

Chapter TwentyFive - The Ghost Of The Shrieking Shack.

REMUS' POV

"Mr. Lupin?"

I turned to face Professor McGonagall. Her hands were pressed against her chest and clasped together in a formal way.

"It's time?" I asked, though knowing the answer by her small sad nod.

"It's time. Come on now." She ushered me by her side. Delicately resting her hand on my back and guiding me through the school halls, away from everyone.

Her heeled shoes echoed, the sound bouncing off of the cold stone walls as she walked; mimicking the feeling of a drum being played before battle.

We walked down a teachers only passageway and then outside finally to the whomping willow. Both of her hands found their way to grip onto my shoulders as I faced her.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, a maternal look upon her face. I lightly shrugged my shoulders.

"It's begun." I stated, a quick nervous laugh escaping my throat "I'm not in any pain though yet, per say. I give it a couple of hours before the burning starts." I said casually, as if this was a completely regular conversation to have.

Which it was with McGonagall. She walked me down to the whomping willow every full moon, the only person to know the spell to calm the vicious tree so that I could escape through the tunnels that lead under it.

Although I knew she was the only one to know the spell, I also knew from the way she firmly squeezed my shoulders or pat my back before leaving, a concern laced in her face and hidden in her words, that she assisted me not only because of her talent to calm the tree.

"You have everything you need? Over the summer we repaired some of the damaged furniture and patched up some blankets. You'll have somewhere to sit and keep warm in the midst of the wait." She nodded at me reassuringly.

"I'll be fine Professor, nothing I haven't done before" I laughed awkwardly and she slightly swatted my head but before removing her hand, touched the side of my face like how a mother would embrace her child.

"Brave boy. Now on you go before it gets dark. You know what to do if tomorrow you need assistance to the hospital." She gently patted my face and reminded me of a spell to use when needing medical assistance, before reaching for her wand and calming the whomping willow, guiding me into the secret entrance.

The tree closed behind me with a creaking, twisting sound. I walked the long, dark passage alone.

At points sight being robbed from you, meaning having to use touch and sound to navigate.

The only sound to be heard was the dry dirt beneath my feet, the muffled movement from the branches and world above me and the hammering, thumping, violent pumping sound of my panicked heart.

The lonely walk towards the shrieking shack was one that haunts my dreams and reality.

ARTY'S POV

I curled myself up on the window ledge in the dorm. Everyone downstairs in the common room curled around the fire. A crowd of students from all years socialising.

I presumed everyone was down there but me, considering the dorm room hadn't seen the other girls since the morning.

I watched as the sun started to set, the sky turning a dusty purple before deepening into a dark blue.

Clouds still hung low in the night sky making it hard to notice many stars, though the moon still shone brightly through the grey patches breaking up the darkness.