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Just at dusk, Sirius was on his way to meet James and Peter by the lake.
He knew Snape was following him; he could feel his slimy eyes on him, hear his clumsy footsteps echoing all the way through the castle, and crunching every dry leaf on the grounds.
Sirius could barely contain his anger as he walked, but he wanted to lead the stupid slytherin out to the edge of the water, out of earshot of the castle...out where Sirius and his friends outnumbered him.
The idea that Snape had the gall to stalk him during the full moon was the final straw for Sirius. This was a sacred monthly ritual for him; the most intimate night he and his friends shared. They had carefully constructed a safe place for Remus to be what he was, and Severus was threatening that.
Sirius was lost in thought as he got closer, consumed by his desire to get Snape off their backs forever; to use the current circumstance to his advantage. Then, out of the corner of his eye, Sirius saw the foreboding black silhouette of the whomping willow.
From god's lips to his ears, an idea began to form. It revealed itself slowly, the way the ink on their map seeped gradually into the parchment.
As he got closer, he saw James and Peter sitting on the large rocks that rested between the edge of the lake and the forest.
The wheels turned furiously in Sirius’s mind, but he walked casually over to his friends, trying desperately to keep the sparkle out of his eyes.
“James. Peter.”
Peter rolled his eyes and got up.
“God, man, you're always late,” his blond friend chided him. He pointed to the transparent harvest moon, risen high above the last purple breath of the sunset.
“It's probably happened already. Let's go.”
“Wait,” Sirius said, stalling, thinking on his feet. “I need to show you both something first…”
James got up, adjusting the old, threadbare brown sweater he wore once a month.
“We can’t keep Remus waiting. You know how restless he gets.”
“And you know I don't like to...but it's important.”
James and Peter exchanged a look.
“Fine,” James agreed. “Where are we going?”
Sirius thought carefully about his words. He knew Snape was listening, and he wanted to hit all the right marks without sounding overt or suspicious.
“Back to the castle. It'll only set us back about an hour. Then we can round back and tickle the knot that subdues the whomping willow. Remus won't leave the shack without us.”
James just looked at him.
After a beat he added, “I honestly can't believe no one else has found a way into that tunnel yet. The knot is right on the mouth of the opening, and it stands out, almost like a twisted clover.”
“Probably because no one knows there's a tunnel at all. And no one wants to feel up the whomping willow for fun,” Peter explained slowly.
“No sense of adventure among the students anymore. It truly saddens me,” Sirius said, shaking his head.
James folded his arms.
“Where are we going?”
“I'll tell you on the way,” Sirius said flashing them an encouraging smile and turning his back to the lake, knowing his friends would follow.
He passed a clump of dying trees, and for a moment...he could hear Snape breathing.
Sirius clenched his hands and again subdued the urge to pull Snape out in the open by his big, loud nose and hex him into next week. Sirius wondered if maybe that wasn't the better idea...if Snape was even stupid and desperate enough to take the bait.
Well, if he is, he’ll get the scare of his life, Sirius thought smugly.
The three gryffindors wandered away on the path that led back behind the castle. Sirius brought up their most recent quidditch match against Ravenclaw and was able to keep his friends entertained as far as the greenhouses.
“Okay, really though, what are we doing back here?” James asked, focusing the conversation.
“Yeah, I want to transform. We only get to do this with Remus once a month,” Peter whined.
“Oh, listen, you are going to love this,” Sirius crowed.
He told them how Snape had followed him from the common room, how he had cleverly led him to the lake where they had met.
He explained that the greasy haired git had been listening to their whole conversation by the rocks, and ...was probably on his way to see Remus presently.
Peter and Sirius started chuckling, and then broke out into uncontrollable laughter, slapping each other and falling over.
“Wow,” Peter cried. “Honestly, that is hilarious and truly messed up.”
Sirius wiped tears from his eyes, laughing as he spoke.
“I know, but once he sees a real werewolf, he'll never bother us again.”
Sirius looked over at James for his reaction, but his friend seemed to be deep in thought.
“Prongs?”
“Did you really think this through, Sirius?”
“No,” Sirius snorted and his eyes crinkled gayly. “But it is pretty funny.”
“And what if Remus actually gets him...what if he kills him?”
“Remus won't kill him,” Sirius laughed. “Or who cares, then he really won't bother us.”
James started pacing, shaking his head, a worried expression clouding his features.
“This was stupid, Black...” he growled. “You should have told us what you were doing.”
“It's not stupid, it's brilliant,” Sirius defended. “And it was kind of a spur of the moment thing, so I'm telling you now.”
James tapped his fingers against the foggy glass of the greenhouse impatiently.
“Someone’s got to make sure...I’ve got to go make sure…” James said, his thoughts overtaking his words.
He shot Sirius and Peter a hard look, and without so much as a goodbye, he took off.