Forbidden Forest Challenge

~Werewolf on the Loose~

This is just great! Sirius Black thought to himself. Just great. He stopped running and transformed back into his human form. He turned around and looked down at the fat rat at his feet.

ÒYou were supposed to be watching him from behind!Ó Sirius yelled. The rat also took its human form. His name was Peter Pettigrew.

ÒI heard something so I turned around to see what it was and then he was gone.Ó Peter said.

Sirius shook his head in disgust and turned his back on him.

ÒSirius, IÕm sorry.Ó Peter whimpered. Sirius didnÕt turn around or say anything. Instead he hauled off and kicked the trunk of a tree. A bush shook near by and a large stag came out of it. It looked questionably at Sirius and Peter then turned into another boy. His name was James Potter. He looked wildly at Sirius and Peter.

ÒWhat are you doingÓ, he asked?

ÒPettigrew lost him.Ó Sirius said pointing an accusing finger at Peter.

ÒI didnÕt lose him!Ó Peter said. ÒIf you hadnÕt been running like a maniac maybe you would have seen where he had gone!Ó

Sirius lunged at him but James caught him by his robes.

ÒLet go of me James!Ó Sirius yelled.

James let go and Sirius fell on his face. He scrambled up quickly and glared at James.

ÒWhat do we do now?Ó he said, but before James could say anything Sirius added, ÒAnd what kept you so long?Ó

ÒProfessor McGonagall wanted to see me.Ó James said defensively. Actually he had met up with Lilly Evans in the... well never mind.

ÒYeah, right.Ó Sirius said.

ÒFine.Ó James said, throwing his hands into the air.

ÒWhat do we do about Remus? ÓPeter asked.

ÒWhy donât you go find him?Ó Sirius said.

Peter gulped and turned white.

ÒHeÕs kidding, Peter.Ó James said dully; Sirius snorted and smiled.

ÒWhat if he doesn't get back in time?Ó Peter asked wildly. ÒWhat if someone finds out? WeÕll be expelled from Hogwarts for sure!Ó

ÒSHUT UP!Ó James and Sirius yelled in unison. Peter went quiet.

ÒWhat if we follow you, Sirius.Ó James said. ÒYou can sniff him out better then the rest of us.Ó

ÒFine.Ó Sirius said angrily. He transformed into the black dog again and put his nose to the ground trying to sniff out his werewolf friend. James turned back into the stag and Peter the rat.

After a few minutes of sniffing the forest floor, Sirius finally picked up a scent. He barked loudly and took off running, James and Peter followed. Sirius kept his nose to the ground as best he could as he ran so he wouldnÕt lose the scent. He stopped short and skidded over the pine-strewn floor. He had smelt something mixed in the wolfÕs scent but couldnÕt make out what it was. James and Peter stopped behind him. Sirius sniffed the floor again then looked up.

A beautiful, pure white unicorn stepped out from behind the tree. It took no notice of the dog, rat and stag and walked across their line of vision. When it was gone, the three friends stared at where it had disappeared, in awe of seeing such a beautiful creature and then went on with their search." They followed the scent for about thirty minutes, when they heard a loud squeak. It was Peter. James and Sirius stopped and the rat turned into a human. He was breathing hard and his face was red.

ÒCome on, Wormtail.Ó Sirius said impatiently, he didnÕt want to lose the scent.

After five minutes, Peter caught his breath and they were off again. They followed the scent to a stream and Sirius found paw prints where Remus had been. He ran across the stream and found that Remus had been there too. He barked loudly again and James crossed the stream with Peter on his back.

They followed a path to a clearing where a Kneazle and her kittens where sleeping. Sirius, James, and Peter slowed down and quietly stalked through the clearing. They were almost past the sleeping Kneazle when she opened her eyes. She suddenly leaped up and lunged at Peter. Sirius ran into the catÕs side as its teeth were opening. The cat went sprawling on its side and then sprang up and lunged at Sirius. It was a small thing and Sirius had no intention of hurting it, but it dug itÕs claws into SiriusÕs muzzle. As he whipped his head around it let go and was thrown against a tree. It let out a wailing meow and the three ran off before it could get back to its feet. Blood from SiriusÕs muzzle was now dripping onto the floor. He tried licking it off, but it was no use, it was too deep. Sirius swore at himself, how were they going to get out of this one? The moon was almost gone, James knew they only had an hour or two to find Remus and get him back into the Shrieking Shack before Madam Pomfrey got there. He silently urged Sirius to hurry up. Sirius barked and James ran after him. He glanced down and saw paw prints on the ground. They were larger than SiriusÕs dog prints and James knew they were on the right path.

Suddenly something hit him hard in the side. He sprawled sideways on the ground and saw a wolf come out of the shadows. Peter gave a loud squeak and Sirius stopped. The wolf watched James closely and walked up to him. He sniffed the air around James and then backed off. James struggled to his feet (excuse me, hooves) and led them back to the Shrieking Shack.

They made it into the Shack just as the sun was coming up, Remus did his painful transformation as his friends in their animal forms stood by and watched. They went up to the top floor where they had left JamesÕs Invisibility Cloak and waited as Madam Pomfrey came and got Remus.