Holding a twice-folded sheet of paper in his hand, Alan gazed with mild interest at the enormous tree before him.
"I wonder what those kids have planned..."
The note had "accidentally" appeared on his desk: rat-delivered mail, while he was "deeply engrossed" in a book in the library.
Surprisingly, the message claimed to be from Lily, asking him to come that evening to the huge tree on the school grounds. He was supposed to slip through a gap between the roots and reach a certain shack where she would be waiting for a very serious conversation.
Alan might have believed it was from Lily if not for two things.
First: the "messenger" was a rat reeking of magic from one of Potter's lackeys, Peter Pettigrew: the same ungainly young man who had fetched the Gryffindor dean to the toilet.
Second: the handwriting only vaguely resembled Lily's.
Tucking the letter away, the mage raised his eyes to the tree once more.
"The Whomping Willow... a rather rare specimen of the Whipping Willow subspecies..."
Approaching it, he placed his palm against the thick trunk and smiled.
"Exactly what I need. I didn't think I'd find such good material for my toys..."
Drawing his wand from his sleeve, Snape pointed it at the rough bark and made a circular motion.
A beam shot from the wand tip, forming an oval that smoothly penetrated several centimeters into the wood before collapsing back into a single point.
"If I use telekinesis, it'll exhaust me quickly. So I'll have to use a local spell."
Pointing the wand at the tree again, he smiled slightly as a two-meter section of bark shifted away from the trunk.
"Wingardium Leviosa... Interesting concept. Thanks to this formula, the magical expenditure is minimal... I never cease to be amazed by this world..."
A few seconds later, a perfectly round piece of wood ten centimeters thick hovered before him.
"Not bad. I think this will be enough for practice and the first batch."
The wizard nodded, lowering it to the ground.
Raising his gaze to the sky, his face was bathed in gray light.
"Full moon... Whomping Willow... a werewolf boy... Now I understand what they're up to. That's why they 'disabled' the tree's defense mechanism: so I could easily pass through the tunnel beneath it and reach whatever it guards..."
What surprised him more was how the headmaster and teachers allowed a werewolf to study alongside ordinary wizards.
But remembering the Basilisk hidden beneath the castle, all previous bewilderment vanished.
"If I ever have children, I'm definitely not sending them to this 'cozy' place."
After examining the tree a little longer, the mage calmly walked toward the hidden passage and entered.
A few minutes after Alan left, three figures in Hogwarts uniforms emerged from behind a small slope.
"I told you that idiot would fall for our letter! I can't believe he turned out to be such a fool." Potter grinned maliciously.
"James, are you sure?" The laughter of his friend was interrupted by a frowning dark-haired boy with rather handsome, almost aristocratic features typical of average Slytherins. " Lupin might actually tear him apart. Then we'll all be in trouble."
"Relax, Padfoot. I talked to him beforehand; he'll try to control himself. And even if that damn Snivellus gets hurt, it'll be his own fault: he walked straight into the wolf's jaws. Don't you want revenge too?" Potter looked at them with a challenging smile. "Because of him, we're suspended for three months. And imagine what'll happen tomorrow when our parents show up: especially your grandmother." At the mention of "grandmother," the dark-haired boy's face twisted unhappily.
"You're right. But we should still follow him. We can't let him die: that would be the end for Moony."
"Of course. That's exactly what I was about to suggest."
"You were just stalling."
James said nothing in response, but the fading smile on his face told Sirius he had hit the mark. Though Black understood they had gone too far, he could no longer (and did not want to) stop his friend.
"Wormtail, stay here. If you see anyone, activate the tree. You know where the knot is."
"Got it." Pettigrew nodded, transforming right before their eyes into a rather large rat and scurrying up the tree.
Approaching the Willow, the boys looked in mild surprise at the chunk of wood lying near the passage.
"What did he need that for?"
"Who the hell knows what's in that moron's head."
Meanwhile, Alan finally emerged from the tunnel. Looking around, he saw the village of Hogsmeade nearby and Hogwarts itself a couple of kilometers away.
"There's the little house." Smiling, he shifted his gaze to the dilapidated shack from which growls and whimpers emanated. "So my suspicions were correct. Those kids decided to sic a werewolf on me. But they didn't even bother to put silencing charms on the building. Bloody amateurs."
The next moment, the shack door burst open with a crash. Out stepped a creature resembling a humanoid wolf.
Its body was covered in thick fur; its head and limbs barely differed from a wolf's; its mouth full of razor-sharp fangs and bestial eyes evoked only pity in Alan, not fear or awe.
"What a wretched sight. I've never seen such a pathetic creature in my life..."
Instead of the massive muscles the mage expected, there were only bones wrapped in skin.
"And this is a werewolf... a disgrace..."
~ RRRAAAAR!
Roaring toward the wizard, the monster charged straight at Snape, who merely snorted contemptuously.
"Disgrace to all werewolves."
Raising his palm, he effortlessly created a transparent barrier. The creature's claws scraped across it with an unpleasant screech.
"You can't even break such a weak shield."
Drawing his wand from his sleeve, he pointed it straight at the beast's forehead.
"Should I kill you?"
But Alan shook his head, abandoning the idea.
"I'd have too many problems then."
At that moment, the claws finally pierced the barrier. Using wind magic, Snape shot backward a good ten meters. He pointed his wand at the werewolf again.
A glowing rope burst from the tip, effortlessly binding the monster's arms and then its legs. It fell to the ground with a thud, still growling at the wizard.
"Quiet down, puppy. Or I'll castrate you and turn you into a good little boy..."
Grinning wickedly, he aimed the wand at Lupin's groin.
As if understanding what Snape meant and seeing where the wand was pointed, the monster immediately began whimpering, though it still growled occasionally: as if warning that the moment the mage did it, it would tear him apart.
"Oho... threatening me?"
Smirking, Alan walked right up to the werewolf.
"Freeze."
The wand tip flashed blue. The monster froze with bulging eyes and an open maw.
"Be glad I don't want trouble. But if you keep looking at me like that, I'll knock out all your teeth."
Tapping the fangs with his wand, he sat on the beast like it was a chair and turned his gaze toward the tunnel he had just left.
"You know, I've been waiting for you."
He smiled at James and Sirius, who stared at him in shock, unable to believe their eyes.
"Why are you just standing there? Come on out."
Instead of answering, they immediately pointed their wands at Alan.
"Get away from Lupin!"
"Or what? You'll tell the headmaster? Or the dean?"
"Snape! I said get away from him!"
"Nah, too lazy. And why do you think you're the ones setting conditions? Don't you see my wand is closer to this werewolf's throat? One wrong move, and I might 'accidentally' use your favorite spell Bombarda and blow your friend's head to hell. And nothing will happen to me. I'll just say he attacked me and I was defending myself..."
"What do you want?" Sirius asked grimly, not taking his eyes off the wand pressed against their friend's neck.
"Glad at least one of you can think. Actually, I don't want much: the artifact you used to find me in the toilet that day."
They were just children, after all. Alan easily saw surprise beneath their confusion, confirming the wizard's suspicion that the Marauders possessed such an artifact.
"What are you talking about? We don't have any—"
"If you keep playing dumb, I'll start by ripping off his ear."
The wand, now glowing bright blue at the tip, moved from the neck to the werewolf's ear.
"And don't tell me you followed me or that your friend is an unregistered Animagus*. I'm giving you three seconds... One..." The light grew brighter.
"We don't have—!"
"Two..."
"Let's just—"
"Three. Sec—"
"FINE!" Unable to take it, James growled through clenched teeth. He pulled a piece of parchment resembling a booklet from his sleeve and threw it toward Snape. At the same time, the two friends exchanged glances and nodded.
"Hm...?"
Raising his palm, Alan caught it with a smile.
"And how do I open it? What's the password?"
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!" Potter spat.
"And to close it again?"
"Mischief managed!"
"Got it. Very clever."
The mage tucked it into his sleeve, smiling at the slightly disappointed faces of the two wizards.
"You thought I'd try to open it right now? What if it's a trap?"
James merely snorted, slowly lowering his wand.
"Now let him go."
"Of course. Everyone step ba— Obliviate!"
Pointing his palm at them, Snape shouted sharply. The two wizards didn't even have time to react: the spell hit them almost instantly. They froze, staring blankly ahead.
"Did you think I'd just let you go?"
Standing up from the werewolf, the mage snorted and calmly walked toward them.
"You saw far too much today. So I'll have to clean up your memories a little. A couple of hours should be enough..."
Standing in front of the two frozen wizards, he pointed his wand at Sirius's forehead and whispered again: "Obliviate..."
"Once I'm done with these two, I mustn't forget about that rat."
Finishing with the first and erasing the last seven hours, he moved to the second.
"Hm... but still, letting them off this easily feels too simple..."
For a moment, the mage's gaze fell on the prone werewolf. A devilish plan formed in his mind for how to punish them.
"No point in having studied dream magic: especially the nightmare branch..."
In James Potter's dream.
Wandering through thick gray fog, the young man had no idea where he was.
"What is this place? Is anyone here?!"
Only silence answered him: silence that frightened the wizard a little.
"J-James..."
Hearing a weak voice, the young mage rejoiced. He immediately recognized who it belonged to.
"Lupin, where are you?!"
"H-here... ~cough! ~cough!"
A few minutes later, he finally emerged from the fog onto a wide clearing.
Near a huge tree sat his werewolf friend, still coughing. His face was completely white.
"Moony, what's wrong with you?!" Potter asked anxiously, running up to him.
No matter what an asshole he was, he truly valued his friends. Perhaps that was the only positive quality Alan respected in him.
"H-help..."
"How?!"
"I... ~ Argh! Get away! I can't control myself!"
Fiercely pushing James away, he quickly transformed into a werewolf.
"Lupin, calm down. I'm your friend..."
Rising with a smile, the mage spoke. But when he lowered his gaze, he swallowed hard.
Between the creature's legs, standing at attention, was a "soldier" over thirty centimeters long.
"L-Lupin... easy..."
Potter reached into his sleeve for his wand, but finding nothing, he turned deathly pale. At that moment, his friend started toward him.
"H-help... I'm h-hot..."
"Stay where you are! Don't come closer!"
Turning, James ran at breakneck speed toward the fog without looking back.
But how could anyone outrun a werewolf? The creature closed the distance quickly. The wizard's face twisted in horror.
In one moment, he "accidentally" tripped and fell. He didn't even manage to get up before feeling a heavy blow to his back.
But he wasn't about to give up. Getting on all fours, he prepared to run again. Yet his legs wouldn't obey.
A second later, Potter felt coolness around his rear and heavy breathing on the back of his neck.
Then: PAIN...