Shrieking Shack

The tunnel was dark and narrow, the four of them bending low as they moved forward.

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

Beside him, James could feel every tremor of his body.

James encouraged him in a low voice, "Hold on, companion, we're almost there."

They reached the entrance leading to the Shrieking Shack.

After climbing up, the four stood in the dilapidated room.

The air was filled with the stale bloody smell and the scent of a beast.

Deep claw marks covered the walls, and the wooden floor was torn and pockmarked.

Broken furniture lay scattered about, bearing witness to countless struggles on full moon nights.

Lupin collapsed in the center of the room, his body beginning to twitch uncontrollably.

Sweat soaked his clothes, muscles writhing beneath his skin.

His eyes had turned completely amber, his nails began to lengthen, his facial expression contorted, almost unrecognizable in his pain.

James quickly made arrangements, "Wormtail, you can go out now. Guard the outside as planned."

Peter hesitated, looking at Lupin's pained state, and swallowed, "Uh... okay, if there's any problem..."

Sirius waved a hand dismissively, his gaze never leaving Lupin, "We'll signal you. Go quickly."

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

Moonlight streamed through the broken windows, casting a silvery glow upon 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 were exceptionally clear in the silent room, each one seeming to come from the deepest part of his soul.

His skin was being torn apart, thick gray fur erupting from his pores.

His face shape changed, his nose elongating, his teeth sharpening.

Pained groans gradually turned into beastly howls, the sounds echoing in the room, chilling to the bone.

James and Sirius quickly transformed.

A tall stag (James) and a large black dog (Sirius) stood on opposite sides of the room, watching the figure in the center completing its transformation with vigilance.

Finally, the fully transformed werewolf (Lupin) stood there, unnatural red light flashing in its eyes.

It growled, its posture more aggressive than usual, every muscle in its body tensed, as if ready to pounce on something.

In the blink of an eye, the werewolf rushed towards the nearest wall, slamming into it with force, as if trying to shatter its own skull.

Each impact produced a dull thud, and dust fell from the walls.

The black dog immediately rushed over, blocking the werewolf and the wall with its body.

The stag also quickly joined, using its antlers to guide the werewolf away from the wall.

In the moment it lowered its head, its antlers gleamed with cold light under the moonlight.

The werewolf let out an angry howl and turned to attack the black dog.

Its red eyes were filled with madness, its claws drawing silver arcs in the air.

Its aggressiveness today far exceeded the norm; its claws sliced through the air, nearly catching the black dog's face.

The black dog dodged nimbly, using barks to distract the werewolf.

The Shrieking Shack turned into a brutal battlefield.

The werewolf first charged at a broken chair in the corner of the room, smashing it to pieces, then slammed its body against the wall, letting out a deafening howl.

The stag charged forward, gently nudging the werewolf's body with its antlers, trying to lure it away from the wall.

The werewolf swiped with a claw as it turned, and the stag hastily dodged sideways, but was still scratched on the shoulder.

The black dog lunged from the side, biting the werewolf's hind leg and dragging it away from the stag.

Sharp claws reached out towards the black dog.

The black dog immediately let go, quickly leaping back to dodge the attack, while barking loudly at the werewolf to attract its attention.

The stag took the opportunity to approach from the other side, carefully using its antlers to guide the werewolf towards the center of the room.

But the werewolf today was more uncontrollable than ever. Its movements were unexpectedly fast, and with a sudden turn, it lunged at the stag.

The stag was almost knocked to the ground by the charge, only managing to block the werewolf's offense with its antlers at the last moment.

Seeing this, the black dog immediately rushed over from behind, biting the werewolf's hind leg.

The werewolf let out a pained howl and turned to attack him.

The black dog ran in circles around the room nimbly, luring the werewolf away.

"Merlin's beard, what's gotten into him tonight?"

The stag's thoughts were almost visible in its eyes as it met the black dog's gaze during a brief exchange.

The werewolf suddenly stopped again, clawing frantically at its own body as if trying to tear its skin off.

This self-mutilation terrified both the stag and the dog.

The black dog immediately lunged forward, using its body to block the werewolf's claws.

The werewolf retaliated with frenzied fury, a swipe of its paw leaving several bloody scratches across the black dog's back.

Seeing this, the stag rushed over, lowered its head, and nudged the werewolf's abdomen with its antlers, pushing it to the other side of the room.

The werewolf was forced back a few steps but immediately counter-attacked, its front paws lunging for the stag's neck.

Enduring the pain in its back, the black dog rejoined the fight, biting down on the werewolf's other leg.

The werewolf howled and thrashed, but the black dog held on tight, buying the stag time to retreat.

In this kind of fight, one could only attract the werewolf's attention while the other interfered from the side, preventing it from harming themselves or their companion.

Even so, the werewolf's ferocity exceeded their expectations.

Furniture in the room was destroyed piece by piece.

Tables were smashed to splinters, the bed was torn to shreds by claws, and the curtains were ripped into strips.

The werewolf rampaged through the room, as if tormented by some invisible pain.

Only when it temporarily quieted down to gnaw on a piece of wood did the black dog and the stag seize the opportunity to retreat to a corner to rest.

Sirius felt a burning pain in his back, while James had several distinct scratches on his shoulder.

James's eyes conveyed: I've never seen him this mad. What could have stimulated him?

Sirius nodded in agreement, and then he smelled that scent again.

Beneath the werewolf's agitated odor, the smell of blood, sweat, and beast, Lucretia's herbal scent still lingered, like an indelible mark.

Every time he got close to Lupin, this scent became more pronounced.

It wasn't like before, when he could detect a faint fragrance on Lucretia.

This time, the scent seemed to have penetrated deep into Lupin's skin, merging with his flesh and blood.

What did this mean?

What had happened between them?

The werewolf dropped the chewed-up wood from its mouth, raised its head, and stared at them with red eyes before lunging.

A new battle began.

For the next few hours, they continued to contend with the werewolf.

Sometimes it would quiet down for a bit, curling up in a corner and whimpering.

But most of the time, it furiously attacked everything around it, including itself.

James and Sirius took turns resting, ensuring at least one of them remained vigilant at all times.

The wounds on their bodies increased, and their stamina rapidly depleted.

But what worried them most was that Lupin would discover even more scratches on himself after waking up tomorrow.

As dawn approached, the frenzy began to subside.

The werewolf's attacks became slow and weak, and finally, it collapsed in the center of the room, letting out pained whimpers.

The sound seemed to be squeezed from the deep place of its chest, enough to break one's heart.

Through the broken windows, the first rays of sunlight shone in.

The process of transforming back into human form was equally brutal.

The werewolf's fur began to fall out, clumps landing on the floor.

Bones made terrifying sounds of restructuring, crackling like someone breaking branches.

Muscles and skin twisted and deformed, noses shortened, and claws reverted to fingers.

Every second was torture.

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

James and Sirius also returned to human form, both panting and covered in injuries.

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

Sirius didn't answer, just looked at Lupin.

They found a blanket in the corner of the room, carefully covering Lupin with it, and then did a quick treatment on his most severe wounds.

The emaciated figure curled up under the blanket, like an injured child.

James, while bandaging the tear on Lupin's arm, said in a low voice, "Wormtail doesn't need to know all the details. We'll ask him what exactly happened when he's feeling better. We two also need to go to the Hospital Wing for some medicine."

Sirius nodded, agreeing with James.

As they finished the last of the bandaging, Peter knocked on the door and asked softly, "Can we come in?"

James quickly helped Lupin into the spare clothes he'd found in the cabinet in the corner. "Wait a moment. Alright, come in."

Peter poked his head in and gasped when he saw Lupin's condition.

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

Sirius shook his neck, which pulled at his back wound, contorting his face in pain. "We'll take him. You go back to the Castle first. James and I will handle things here. Remember to ask for leave for us; we can't make today's classes."

Peter nodded. Although he was a little unhappy about being excluded, he could see that these three weren't doing well, so he didn't say anything else and turned to leave.

James asked in a low voice, glancing out the window, "What do you think?"

The moon had completely disappeared, leaving only the faint light of dawn.

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

That Herbal Smell, and Lupin's abnormal state tonight...

This was definitely not a coincidence.

Can't find the book by its title, perhaps try searching for the author, maybe it was just renamed!