The Shrieking Shack

The tunnel was dark and narrow, and the four of them had to hunch over as they moved forward.

Lupin's footsteps grew heavier and heavier, his breathing rough and painful.

James, beside him, could feel every tremor running through his body.

James encouraged him softly. "Hang in there, mate. We're almost there."

They reached the entrance to the Shrieking Shack.

After climbing up, the four of them stood in a dilapidated room.

The air was thick with the stale scent of blood and beasts.

Deep claw marks covered the walls, while the wooden floor had been torn into a pitted mess.

Broken furniture lay scattered everywhere, bearing witness to countless struggles on Full Moon nights.

Lupin collapsed in the middle of the room, his body beginning to convulse uncontrollably.

Sweat soaked through his clothes, and his muscles writhed beneath his skin.

His eyes had turned completely amber, his nails were beginning to lengthen, and his features twisted in pain until he was almost unrecognizable.

James quickly gave orders. "Wormtail, you can leave now. Stand guard outside as planned."

Peter hesitated. Looking at Lupin's suffering, he swallowed nervously. "Er... all right. If anything happens..."

Sirius gave a brief wave, his eyes never leaving Lupin. "We'll signal you. Go."

Peter nodded, transformed back into a rat, and quickly scurried out of the room.

Moonlight streamed through the shattered window, its silvery glow falling across Lupin.

The transformation began.

This time, it was far more painful than usual.

His body began to twist, every bone rearranging itself.

The cracking sounds rang especially clearly through the silent room, each one seeming to come from the depths of his soul.

His skin tore as thick gray fur pushed out through his pores.

The shape of his face changed, his nose lengthened, and his teeth sharpened.

His painful groans gradually became beastly howls, echoing through the room and sending chills down their spines.

James and Sirius transformed at once.

A tall stag, James, and a large black dog, Sirius, stood on opposite sides of the room, watching the figure in the center warily as it completed its transformation.

At last, the fully transformed Werewolf, Lupin, stood there, unnatural red light gleaming in his eyes.

He growled low, more aggressive than usual, every muscle in his body taut as though he might pounce on something at any moment.

In the blink of an eye, the Werewolf charged at the nearest wall and slammed into it with all his strength, as though trying to smash his own skull apart.

Each impact let out a dull thud, sending dust showering down from the wall.

The Black Dog immediately rushed over and put himself between the Werewolf and the wall.

The stag hurriedly joined him, using his antlers to steer the Werewolf away from it.

As he lowered his head, his antlers flashed with cold light beneath the moon.

The Werewolf let out an enraged howl and turned to attack the Black Dog.

His red eyes were full of madness, his claws carving silver arcs through the air.

His aggression tonight far surpassed anything they had seen before. His claws sliced through the air, nearly catching the Black Dog's face.

The Black Dog dodged nimbly, barking to distract the Werewolf.

The Shrieking Shack had become a brutal battlefield.

The Werewolf first charged at a broken chair in the corner and smashed it to pieces, then hurled his body into the wall with a deafening howl.

The stag rushed forward and gently pushed against the Werewolf's body with his antlers, trying to lead him away from the wall.

The Werewolf spun around and swiped. The stag hurriedly twisted aside, but his shoulder was still clawed.

The Black Dog lunged in from the side, biting down on the Werewolf's hind leg and dragging him away from the stag.

Sharp claws slashed toward the Black Dog.

The Black Dog immediately released him and sprang backward to avoid the attack, barking loudly at the Werewolf to draw his attention.

The stag took the chance to approach from the other side, carefully using his antlers to guide the Werewolf toward the middle of the room.

But the Werewolf was harder to control today than ever before. He moved with startling speed, suddenly turning and lunging at the stag.

The stag was nearly pinned to the ground in one blow, barely managing to block the Werewolf's attack with his antlers.

Seeing this, the Black Dog immediately rushed in from behind and bit down on the Werewolf's hind leg.

The Werewolf howled in pain and turned to attack him instead.

The Black Dog ran agilely in circles around the room, drawing the Werewolf away.

"Merlin, why is he acting like he's gone mad tonight?"

The stag's thoughts were practically written in his eyes when he met the Black Dog's gaze during a brief crossing.

The Werewolf suddenly stopped again and began clawing frantically at his own body, as though trying to tear open his own flesh.

That act of self-harm terrified both of them—the stag and the dog.

The Black Dog immediately lunged forward and knocked the Werewolf's claws aside with his body.

The Werewolf struck back like a madman, one swipe raking across the Black Dog's back and leaving several bloody marks.

The stag rushed over at once, lowering his head and pushing the Werewolf's abdomen with his antlers, driving him toward the other side of the room.

The Werewolf was forced back several steps, but immediately counterattacked, both front claws reaching for the stag's throat.

Enduring the pain in his back, the Black Dog joined the fight again and bit down on the Werewolf's other leg.

The Werewolf howled and shook his body violently, but the Black Dog refused to let go, buying the stag time to retreat.

In this kind of fight, one of them could only draw the Werewolf's attention while the other interfered from the side, keeping him from hurting himself or his companions.

Even so, the Werewolf's fury exceeded their expectations.

The furniture in the room was destroyed piece by piece.

The table was smashed into fragments, the bed ripped apart by claws, and the curtains torn into strips.

The Werewolf charged wildly around the room, as though tortured by some invisible pain.

Only when he quieted down temporarily to gnaw on a piece of wood did the Black Dog and the stag seize the chance to retreat into a corner and recover.

Sirius's back burned with pain, while several obvious claw marks crossed James's shoulder.

James's eyes said, I've never seen him this mad. I don't know what set him off.

Sirius nodded in agreement, then caught that scent again.

Beneath the Werewolf's agitated smell, the blood, sweat, and beastly stench, Lucretia's herbal fragrance still lingered like an indelible mark.

Every time he drew near Lupin, the scent became more distinct.

It was not like before, when he could catch only a faint fragrance on Lucretia.

This time, the smell seemed to have seeped into Lupin's skin and fused with his flesh and blood.

What did that mean?

What exactly had happened between them?

The Werewolf tossed aside the chewed-up wood in his mouth, lifted his head, fixed his red eyes on them, and lunged.

A new battle began.

Over the next few hours, they continued circling around the Werewolf.

Sometimes, he would quiet down for a while, curling up in a corner and whimpering softly.

But most of the time, he attacked everything around him in a frenzy, including himself.

James and Sirius took turns resting, making sure at least one of them remained alert at all times.

Their injuries accumulated, and their strength drained rapidly.

But what worried them most was that Lupin would wake tomorrow to find even more wounds on his body.

As dawn approached, the frenzy began to fade.

The Werewolf's attacks became slow and weak. At last, he collapsed in the middle of the room, letting out painful whimpers.

The sound seemed squeezed from the depths of his chest, enough to break their hearts.

The first ray of sunlight shone through the shattered window.

The process of changing back into human form was just as brutal.

The Werewolf's fur began to fall out in clumps, dropping to the floor.

His bones made horrifying sounds as they rearranged themselves, crack, crack, like branches being snapped.

Muscle and skin twisted and shifted, his nose shortened, and his claws turned back into fingers.

Every second was torture.

But finally, Lupin lay there, covered in wounds and completely unconscious.

James and Sirius returned to human form as well. Both of them were panting, their bodies covered in injuries.

James's voice was full of exhaustion as he stared blankly, clutching the claw marks on his arm. "God, tonight was so much worse than usual... He's never been this violent."

Sirius did not answer. He only looked at Lupin.

They found a blanket in a corner of the room and carefully covered Lupin with it, then briefly treated his most serious injuries.

The gaunt figure curled beneath the blanket like an injured child.

As James bandaged the gash on Lupin's arm, he said quietly, "Wormtail doesn't need to know every detail. Once he's better, we'll ask him what happened. The two of us need to get to the Hospital Wing and put something on these wounds too."

Sirius nodded, agreeing with James.

Just as they finished the last of the bandaging, Peter knocked on the door and asked softly, "Can I come in?"

James hurriedly dressed Lupin in spare clothes he had found in a cabinet by the wall. "Wait a moment. All right, come in."

Peter poked his head in. The moment he saw Lupin's condition, he sucked in a sharp breath.

"Merlin's beard, he looks awful! Should we go find Madam Pomfrey?"

Sirius moved his neck, pulling at the wound on his back. His face twisted with pain as well. "We'll take him there. You go back to the castle first. James and I will handle things here. Remember to get us leave—we can't make it to class today."

Peter nodded. Though he was somewhat displeased at being left out, the three of them really did look terrible, so he said nothing more and turned to leave.

James asked softly, his gaze sweeping toward the window, "What do you think?"

The moon had completely vanished, leaving only faint morning light.

Sirius thought for a long time before speaking. "I don't know, but something is definitely wrong. When he wakes up, we need to have a proper talk."

That herbal scent, and Lupin's abnormal state tonight...

This was no coincidence.