Jily | I Can't Love Him

Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs

"Calm down, Moony. No one can hear us, we're underground," Sirius reassured Remus.

Soon the boys reached the end of the tunnel, stopping at a dirty set of stone steps. They made their way up the steps, pushed open a sturdy door, and walked into a rickety, wooden building.

The Shrieking Shack was an abandoned house, with the windows and doors boarded up to prevent anyone from entering. The rooms and halls were all dirty, covered with dust, and the furniture was moth-eaten and broken. There was an armchair in the foyer of the shack that had one of its legs ripped off.

James locked the door and hid the key, along with his invisibility cloak, under the distressed cushion of the armchair. The four made their way up a staircase which led to the second floor. The door to that floor was also locked and the key hidden.

They entered a very disordered room. The only room free of dust. Paper was peeling from the walls; there were stains all over the floor; every piece of furniture was broken; large gouges and scratches were scattered upon every surface. Scratches made by large claws. In the room, there was a magnificent, four-poster bed. One of the posters was snapped clean in half as if something large had been thrown into it.

James was the last to walk into the room. A large dog, a rat and Remus stood before him. He walked up to Remus and put his hand on his friend's shoulder comfortingly.

"See you on the other side, Moony," he said, a forced smile stretched across his face.

Remus simply nodded. Moments later he was face to face with a brilliant stag.

---

The sun slowly rose above the horizon, golden light spilling onto the grounds of Hogwarts. The light slipped through the cracks in the Shrieking Shack and hit James square in the eyes. He sat up from the hard, dust-covered, wooden floor roughly and patted himself down, checking he still had all of his body parts. He winced as his hand brushed over a large gash on his thigh.

"Nothing Maden Pomfrey can't fix," he muttered.

Slowly, he stood up and wandered through the rooms in search for his friends. His pace quickened as he heard loud sobs seeping through the walls from one of the rooms. He pushed the door open and looked around frantically. A frail Remus Lupin sat huddled in the corner, hugging his knees and rocking himself slightly. Soul-wracking wails were shaking his weak frame. James hurried forward and crouched beside his distraught friend.

"Remus," he soothed, "don't freak out, mate. Hey, don't cry. Everything's alright."

The sobs ebbed.

"Did I hurt anyone?" Remus asked, rubbing his bloodshot eyes as he looked up at James.

James flinched at Remus's face. He had a fresh scratch stretching from his nose across his cheek, one eyebrow was cut and bloody, and there were specks of blood across his forehead. He heard the door open behind him and two sets of footsteps enter.

"No, we're all fine," he reassured Remus, who peered around James and sighed in relief.

"We better get back to the castle before everyone wakes up," Sirius warned. "Pete rolled his ankle so we'll be slower than usual."

James turned to see Peter being supported by Sirius, his ankle was very puffy and turning a strange purple-blue. He stood up and offered Remus a hand who accepted it gratefully.