My NaNoWriMo Project, World. World, my NaNoWriMo Project
Hello. For all of you who are not familiar with National Novel-Writing Month, it is a past-time for writers during November where they aim to write down 50,000 words of a story in the space of 30 days. I succeeded, and this is the result. To be perfectly honest, I don't think I did it as well as I could have, but this is what came out. Hope you enjoy.
Chapter 1 of my draft. I am going to say, over and over again, this is a draft. Especially around portion 6 when things get very weird and disjointed.
Note: this REQUIRES the reader to either have read both all of the Harry Potter series and Lord of the Rings, or just not care about spoilers. If you haven't read "The Prince's Tale," you're going to wonder why Severus Snape is hanging around with Lily Evans. And some of the Lord of the Rings references are not in the movie, so, you should be prepared.
Enjoy.
This is a draft of my story, the result of my effort at National Novel-Writing Month. Even this disclaimer/introduction, because I am that cheap. I say again, it is a draft. Towards the end, it gets very scattered and full of random notes. It shifts from actually story to plot summary at random intervals. I believe I repeat myself many times over. Also, I fear the characters are a little assassinated. Severus Snape is not enough of a bastard (don't get me wrong, he's an understandable and somewhat admirable anti-hero, but I like poor Neville better. Let's call a bastard a bastard), Lily has been possessed by Hermione (Muggle-born who knows everything and is unstoppable with magical spells), Remus has more angst and trepidation than he should (I apologize), and James and Sirius are indistinguishable from Biggs and Wedge. Don't get me started on the Lord of the Rings characters. But I hope you can enjoy it, and please give me your opinion about the characterization and where it seems to be headed. Cheers!
"Heads up, Snivellus!"
Severus Snape ducked and whipped out his wand as something exploded on the wall to his left. Peter Pettigrew was already halfway down the corridor, his shrill giggle echoing slightly off the walls. Interesting that he'd had the guts to do that without Potter or Black around. Severus scowled as he straightened up and examined the smear on the wall, ignoring the other students now hurrying away. Bubotuber pus. How nice. And since most of the school believed that James Potter had "saved his life" the previous week, Severus couldn't complain to anyone without appearing, as Lily had put it, "ungrateful." He swore under his breath as he scooped up his fallen book bag and continued down to the Great Hall.
He sat down at the edge of the Slytherin table, declining the seat Avery offered with as much politeness as he could manage. He'd been in a bad mood for most of the week, ever since Potter had dragged him out from under the Whomping Willow, kicking and cursing. Potter had gotten bashed in the head by a swinging branch and landed a night in the hospital wing. Severus had gotten detention and an even worse reputation that he had already. He sighed and pulled out his potions textbook. He just couldn't deal with people right now.
"Something got you down today?"
"Lily!" he smiled in surprise and slammed his textbook shut. It was rare for her to seek him out at lunch. "How are-- Hello."
She smiled warmly at him, ignoring the several nearby Slytherins who were giving her icy stares. Severus hesitated a moment, then gathered up his things and headed out of the hall with her.
"You didn't need to do that," she said that in a tone of concern. "I wasn't going to stay, I just wanted to ask you something."
"Don't worry about it, he assured her. "What is it?"
"Well," she hesitated, leaning against the stone wall of the corridor, "remember a few weeks ago I was worrying about my Divination O.W.L.?
I said not to, because Divination's a waste of time. You either have the gift, or you don't. Why do you ask?"
"Because," Lily started, and then lowered her voice, "after that you mentioned the Potions O.W.L--"
He laughed in disbelief. "How can you possibly be worried about Potions?"
"I'm not!" She blushed slightly. "I know you and I are both well-prepared for that." She was referring to the hours they'd spent practicing and quizzing each other in Slughorn's classroom every evening. "Actually, this would give us a break from studying."
Severus smiled, intrigued. "Go on."
"Well, Divination and Potions got me thinking: what if you could brew a potion that let you divine the future?" She paused, looking at him expectantly. "Well?"
He blinked, and steepled his fingers together out of habit as he considered. "A draught that mimics Seer properties..."
"Or a divining glass," Lily added. She was never eager to drink a potion, even one that hadn't come out of the classroom. "But do you know of anything like that? Something that we could make?"
"I've heard, vaguely," he put great emphasis on this word, "of such things. But those potions would be beyond anything we've tried before."
"How beyond?"
"So beyond that you only learn about them when you're studying for a career in potions. After Hogwarts." Severus shook his head. "We couldn't attempt any of them at the level we are now. I'm sure Professor Slughorn knows the methods, but I can't see him letting fifth-years try them out, because magic dealing with time can be disastrous if done wrong."
Lily hesitated for a moment. "It still wouldn't hurt to ask." Severus gave her a suspicious look but she continued doggedly.
"You're the best in our year at Potions, Sev. You know it, I know it. Maybe Professor Slughorn would be willing to make an exception, maybe even help us. Come on, Sev." She grabbed his elbow as he started to turn away. "I know you're curious, too."
Damn. He tried to avoid her gaze, a reluctant smile on his face. Through a lot of their time at Hogwarts, the only thing that had kept them together as friends had been their common passion for potions. Severus had straight skill and intuition, the sense of timing and method imperative to delicate mixtures. Lily had this same intuition with ingredients, combined with sheer nerve. She took risks with her potions, always having a rational explanation on hand. And as his Potions partner for nearly every Gryffindor/Slytherin class for nearly five years, she knew he'd never leave a question like this one unanswered.
So it didn't surprise Severus in the least when he found himself seeking out Professor Slughorn later that afternoon to ask his advice on potions that revealed the future.
"I've never tried anything like this."
Severus emptied his arms and, as several jars clattered and rolled across the surface of the desk, snatched up an old, heavily creased piece of parchment. He held it a foot from his face and slowly leaned back against the desk behind him.
Slughorn had been hesitant when he first asked, but when Severus mentioned it was Lily Evans' idea, the professor gladly relinquished instructions to a "simple" potion called the "Liquid Looking Glass." It didn't sound very difficult to make - all ingredients they'd handled before, and only a week to brew - the tricky part, as far as Severus could see, depended on the will and discipline of the mixer.
"You need an idea of what you want to see in the mirror. And you need to keep that idea fixed in your mind as you're making it. This potion is designed to show you anything, from what's inside there," he pointed to an old, weather-beaten trunk in the corner of the room, "to what Shaw's aunt did last Friday at 7:00." He saw Lily nod absently, fiddling with her wand almost unconsciously. He cleared his throat and continued. "So if you want to see your own future, you have to be specific. But not extremely. You could say 'What will I be doing five years hence?' or something like that. Or you could say, 'Show me my ten greatest achievements."
Lily smiled, leaning on the side of the desk. "I love it when they're flexible like that." She suddenly frowned. "So does that mean each potion is only good for seeing one thing?"
Severus nodded. "That's why it's not insanely complicated. The mixture loses its potency within minutes, after the images fade. You only have time to answer one question. That's partly why it's important to know what you want to see." He paused, considering. "And since it's so maker-oriented, you should be primary mixer. I'll just be here to help."
Lily nodded in agreement but her frown deepened and she pulled down Severus' hand to angle the parchment toward her. "Do you think there's a way to make it last longer?"
Her putting her hand on his was unusual, and a little unsettling. Severus had deemed it none of his business to ask if Lily had a reason to want to see her future, but as she examined the parchment, he couldn't help but feel a bit concerned.
He shrugged off this feeling and handed the paper to Lily. "You're the primary mixer."
A week later, the potion had reached a luminous periwinkle blue. It lacked the faint silver tint it was supposed to have at this point and Severus was quick to point this out.
"I think it's because of the unicorn parts. I crushed the horn instead of powdering it, and decreased the amount of blood needed by one-twentieth." Lily wiped the back of her hand across her brow. "The way I see it, it's still evenly distributed, but longer-lasting. What do you think?"
"I think we should ask the professor's advice before we go any further."
Lily rolled her eyes, but nodded. The classroom door opened loudly behind them. "Ah, Miss Evans. Mr. Snape. How is it coming along?"
Severus turned around. "It's fine, Professor, but I think we need your advice--" He stopped short as he saw Professor Slughorn stroll into the room, followed by James Potter and Sirius Black. They both returned his look of distaste and it took all his concentrated efforts to turn his head back to his teacher. "We experimented a bit. I'd like to know what you think before we continue."
"Evans!" James brightened considerably and held his hand up in greeting. "Don't tell me you're in detention too?"
"I'm not you, Mr. Potter," said Lily haughtily. To the Professor, she explained, "I changed a little in the procedures, but all the ingredients are the same." He gave her a questioning look, and she handed him the instruction sheet, with various annotations that Severus had scribbled in. "I tried to adjust the potion to make it last longer. But do you think it would have other effects?"
Severus watched Slughorn as he sat down at his desk to examine the list. In his own mind, there were undoubtedly some effects that he and Lily wouldn't have counted on. But of the three of them, only Slughorn had enough experience to be able to say what they were.
He heard a snicker and glanced behind him. James and Sirius were sitting at a desk at the back of the room, whispering together and laughing. Sirius caught him watching them and waved. He immediately looked away, and could hear them both laugh a little louder.
Slughorn came back and handed the list to Lily. "Well, Miss Evans, these adjustments will certainly make the potion more long-lasting. In fact, if you do this final step alternating clockwise and then counter-clockwise stirs, I believe you could make the potion's effects permanent."
Severus' jaw dropped. Lily beamed. "Thank you, sir! That had occurred to me, but I'm glad you could confirm it."
"I wasn't quite finished," Slughorn's expression looked hesitant. "I cannot be sure that the potion's active time is the only thing you've changed. Potions are very tricky that way. So my advice is to be very careful on this last step. I take it you have an idea of what you want to see, yes?" Lily nodded. "That image is most important during the final phase of the brewing. Do not let it waver, do not let yourself be distracted from that idea. Do you understand?"
"Yes sir."
"Good." Slughorn smiled, reassured. "I trust your judgment, Miss Evans. Also," he glanced behind him to look at James and Sirius, who seemed to have started a game of Exploding Snap. "Those two have detention this evening until nine. If they will distract you here, I can send them to scrub out my store room instead."
Severus pictured James kneeling on the grimy floor of the store room, moaning over the filth on his robes, and smiled to himself. By the look in her eye, Lily was obviously envisioning something similar, but she shook her head. "That won't be necessary, Sir. Thank you."
Severus blinked in surprise, but said nothing. He bent his head over the potion, watching the fluid slowly coax itself around the cauldron. He vaguely heard Slughorn speaking behind him to the miscreants. "Two hundred lines, 'I will not disrupt my professor's class.' And you will get these back at nine." He snatched up their cards and put the deck in his pocket.
"Sev," Lily tapped his shoulder. "Can you hand me the ladle?"
They worked diligently for an hour or so in silence. Lily was so focused on her stirring that her sleeve caught on the silver knife and knocked it to the floor. Severus stumbled a bit to catch it, and heard soft clapping behind him. James and Sirius were beaming, long finished with their lines, and now just sitting there, whispering to each other. Severus flushed and shoved the knife in his pocket.
"Professor?"
Everyone except Lily glanced toward the door as a boy appeared in the doorway. Severus recognized him as the Fourth Year Regulus Black. The boy nodded towards him, and to his brother Sirius, before approaching Professor Slughorn at his desk. "Professor McGonagall asked to see you, Professor. She said it's urgent."
Slughorn raised his brows in surprise, then glanced at Severus, who looked at Lily, who had her face so close to the potion they could see her reflection. "Do you two still need my assistance at all?" When Severus shook his head, Slughorn smiled and followed Regulus out, dropping James' and Sirius' card deck in front of them as he passed.
As soon as he was gone, Sirius put his feet up on the desk and swooped up the cards. "Well, that's benevolent of him, isn't it?" he said in a loud voice, "But couldn't he at least dismiss us too, before he left?"
"Must have slipped his mind, Padfoot." James glanced down at his watch. "Like the time. We've still got five minutes."
Severus heard Sirius groan loudly as he turned back to Lily. She was standing now, beckoning him to come closer. "I think it's almost done!"
He rushed forward and stared into the potion, which had become as clear as water, but gave off flecks of brilliant silver. The mixture swirled and gleamed, and Severus' face broke into a broad smile. "It's beautiful," he murmured.
"I just need to add a fraction of dragon claw, and then I can look." Lily moved closer, her long red hair flowed down off her shoulder. She bit her lip slightly, watching the liquid as if transfixed. "Interesting," she said, almost to herself. "It looks a lot like Galadriel's mirror."
"What?"
Lily smiled. "Never mind. So, you'll monitor the potion while I prepare the claw, all right?" Severus nodded, still confused about the reference.
The classroom door opened again and they looked up. Severus' eyes darkened as he recognized Remus Lupin, who, he remembered, was a Gryffindor prefect.
"Evans, Snape." Remus halfheartedly lifted his hand in greeting and cautiously moved forward to where his friends sat. "Sirius, James. Professor Slughorn was caught up in something, so he told me to tell you you're dismissed."
"Perfect!" Sirius sprang up and started gathering his and James' affects. "Come on, P-- Prongs? Where'd you--?"
"'Ello, Evans."
Severus hadn't even seen James come up behind them. The boy had sidled up to Lily, who was now grinding the claw with a mortar and pestle, and leaned very close to her ear. The spoon in Severus' hand snapped in half and he heard a faint simmering noise.
"I really don't get it," Sirius sighed as he dropped the bags and folded his arms. "I mean, nothing against Evans, but when any girl in the school would give her own wand to be his girlfriend, why bother with the one that doesn't?"
"I think it's part of the appeal," Remus replied dryly. He flipped open one of the school bags. "Do you often carry all of your textbooks at once?"
"We didn't have much off-time today." Sirius laughed as he watched James' futile attempts to even make conversation with Lily. Not that he liked watching his friend get shot down, but the look on Snape's face was priceless.
Sirius stopped smiling. The classroom suddenly felt very chill. Not cold as in wintry, but it felt like all the heat had flowed out the door in the space of a second. Neither Evans, James, or Snape seemed to notice, but he looked at Remus, whose expression was just as bemused.
"Do you feel that?"
"Potter, honestly!" Lily's voice was raised. "Don't bother me right now!"
"I'm bothering you? I'm sorry." James withdrew a bit and she turned back to the bowl. He took a glance at the parchment of instructions. "'Liquid Looking Glass'? Is that as unimpressive as it sounds?"
"Ai Iluvatar!" Lily whirled around to look him in the eyes and Sirius saw her dump the whole pestle of dragon claw into the glowing mixture. "Potter, I have to concentrate! And if you mess this potion up for me--"
"Lily!"
Snape was staring in horror at Lily's mixture, which was sloshing and foaming violently. The ceiling above was washed with sky blue and silver lights flickered everywhere, almost blinding in their brightness. The entire potion vaporized and everything vanished in the mist. Sirius felt Remus' hand grab at his wrist and pull him out of the door, heard Lily's voice from a distance urging them to get out, heard James yell something, but it sounded so far away. Then the stone floor beneath him was gone, and everything seemed to fall.
Severus stopped in his tracks, nearly pulling Lily off her feet. The mist had cleared in an instant, but it did not reveal Slughorn's classroom. They were surrounded by towering old trees, and leaves dropped from long gnarled branches. The wan light gave everything a lurid hue; the air felt stifling and cold.
"Is this... the Forbidden Forest?" He'd never actually been there, so it was hard to be sure. But this was certainly how the rumors described it. Maybe even more so. Deliberately unfriendly.
"I hope so," he heard Lily whisper. She had her hand on her forehead and was turning slowly, taking everything in. Severus saw her eyes grow wider with every step.
She suddenly leapt forward and scooped up one of their school bags, almost buried under leaves. Severus knelt down beside her and found the instruction parchment, their other school bag, Lily's mortal and pestle, and the overturned silver bowl which had, up until that moment, contained the potion.
Lily groaned softly as Severus picked up the bowl and examined it. Completely dry, with no traces of any of the mixture left. The potion had been used up and had vanished as completely as though it had never existed. He handed the bowl to Lily, who clutched the rim as she struggled to find words.
"Somehow," she murmured, "I think I buggered it up."
"I think so, too," Severus admitted as he folded and pocketed the instructions. There was no point in lying to comfort her. This was not what they'd been trying to do. "Either way, we should find our way out of here." She took his hand and shoved the bowl into her bag, then shouldered it. Severus took the other and took out his wand.
"Point me." The wand whipped off to the left, North. "The Forest is west of the castle, right? So let's go this way."
"Hallo? Anyone here?"
James looked in every directed, and found nothing but giant looming trees. As soon as the potion reacted he'd grabbed Lily and sprinted for the door, but she'd fallen out of his grip and he'd found himself alone. How alone? Where in the hell was he? This couldn't be the Forbidden Forest - he'd spent enough time there to prove that. The gloom here was different, difficult to describe. Tangible. Like the very trees were hostile. James suppressed a shiver as he crept over a thick root.
He heard a voice echoing over a rise. He sprinted over the hill and through the trees almost without thinking, fixed on finding the source of that voice.
"James! Evans!"
"Moony!" It was him! James leaped over a fallen log and slipped down an embankment to land facedown on the ground. The first thing he saw as he raised his throbbing head was a giant lowering willow tree, balanced precariously above a shallow streambed. He saw Remus and Sirius beneath it. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, we're right dandy." Sirius was sitting on one of the willow's massive roots, soaking wet and massaging his ankle. "Considering we landed in that stream there and nearly broke our necks." Sirius shook his head like a dog and James grinned at the familiar gesture.
"Did Evans or Snape tell you what that potion was?" asked Remus. He was also soaked and had a few leaves stuck in his hair. "I think that's what landed us here." He looked around and added, "Wherever here is."
"It was called a Liquid Looking Glass." James soured as he thought back to his latest defeat. "I didn't get the impression it was supposed to do this, thought." He looked around at the trees, one of which gave an ominous creak. "It's not the Forbidden Forest, is it?"
Remus and Sirius both shook their heads. James sat down next to them and considered their best course of action. It was getting visibly darker, and cold. He wondered vaguely whether Evans and Snape had landed somewhere nearby, and whether Lily was angry. She'd probably been serious when she said he was distracting her.
James blinked and shook his head. Why was he suddenly so tired?
"Sun's set. We should probably find a road or something," Remus said. He stood and looked around, squinting in the growing dark.
"Maybe we should stay here instead," Sirius countered. The other two looked at him and he shrugged. "What? It's not the Forest, so we have no idea what's out here. And it's too late and too dark to try moving now. We'll fall off a cliff or something. We should probably just make camp for tonight and try in the morning."
"Sirius, shouldn't we at least find out where we are first?" Remus glanced at James for support. "I mean, since we don't know what's out here, shouldn't we explore a little, find out what's here, and then find adequate cover?"
James had to admit that a rest sounded very good right now, but Remus had a valid point. A nagging doubt finally brought him to his feet. He lit his wand and turned around. "Come on, Padfoot. Let's see what we can find."
Sirius seemed not to have heard him, but instead had changed to dog form and curled up at the base of the tree. James frowned in indignation.
"Padfoot."
Remus suddenly gripped his arm. "James!"
James looked up quickly, raising his wand. Several of the willow's thin branches were snaking down toward them as the root under Sirius started to move.
Lily sighed as she picked another snagging thorn out of her robes. The trees were growing thicker with every step, obscuring their path and pushing them in every direction they didn't want to go. They picked their way gingerly, avoiding the trees that seemed more sinister, but even with their caution, their cloaks were caught in branches too often for either's liking.
"Do you think using incendio could make a difference here?" Severus asked. His tone was calm, but Lily could tell he was getting frustrated.
"Let's not risk it, she answered. Who knew what would happen? She yelped as another tree root knocked her feet out from under her, and prayed that her mounting suspicions were wrong. Please let us be lost in the English countryside. Please don't let us be where I think we are...
"Lily, do you hear that?"
Shouting voices. They took off in the direction of the noise, but the trees cut them off, heaving their branches across the path. They pushed and shoved but the thick wood was solid as stone and wouldn't budge.
"They're consciously blocking the way!" Severus murmured in astonishment. The light from his wand-tip was shaking slightly.
"Please let us through!" Lily called to the trees in desperation. "We mean you no harm! We only want to pass through! Do you understand? Please!"
"Lily!" She felt Severus yank her backwards just as one large, claw-like branch fell from the treetops onto the spot she'd been standing a second before. The branch crackled as it tightened into a fist and ascended back among the leaves. She swallowed hard, thinking. What do you do if you can't negotiate with a tree?
"I wonder..." Severus helped her into a standing position and stared up into the lowering foliage. "Remember the charm Shreck taught us a few weeks ago?"
She blinked. "The Patronus?"
This year's Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was Professor Shreck, a researcher of Dark creatures and artifacts. Instead of spending the year reviewing basic spells for OWLs, like most of the other teachers, Professor Shreck had assembled a curriculum of advancing defensive magic, reasoning that if the students could pass his class, the OWLs would be a doss. Not the most popular teachers of the year, but Lily enjoyed the challenge immensely.
This was hardly the time to bring up classes. "What about it?"
"If you can conjure one, I think it would help right now."
Fire shot from James' wand and smoldered several of the willow's leafy tendrils. Sirius let out another yell of pain as the tree roots clamped more tightly on him, despite Remus' attempts to pry them open. Blood was flowing freely down his arm, where the willow's vine had grabbed him. He'd only just had time to cut himself free before James pulled out his wand.
"Prongs, stop burning the bloody tree! Stop!"
The flames immediately vanished as James jumped back to avoid the tree's tendrils. "The knot!" he suddenly exclaimed as he dived around to the other side of the tree. "Find its secret knot!"
"This is a Whomping Willow?" Remus muttered in disbelief. He tried Relashio on the roots again and Sirius gasped as the roots dug into his rib cage. "Secret knot! Right!" Remus looked around wildly for a knot on the tree. "Hang on, Sirius!"
"There's no bloody knot!" he heard James shout, then heard what sounded like a whip crack and a cry of pain. Remus looked around for James but didn't dare leave Sirius' side. He tried every spell he could think of on the root, but to no avail. Sirius' struggling became weaker as Remus used a Severing Charm on another tendril snaking around his middle. It was getting harder to move. He almost could hear the tree's anger, if that voice wasn't the onset of delirium. There was another voice, too, but it wasn't coming from the tree. It was coming from the same direction as a shining white light...
And suddenly the tree relaxed. The tendrils drooped, lifeless, as the tree straightened itself up to its natural posture. The roots opened and Sirius scrambled out, shaking and gasping, his robes torn and slightly bloody. Remus jumped forward and grabbed his shoulder before he collapsed. "Are you all right?"
"What the bloody hell was that?" he shuddered. Remus patted him awkwardly, not knowing how to answer. They both looked up at the sound of footsteps on the grass.
"Are you three all okay?"
"Evans!" James slipped on the wet leaves as he came out from behind the willow, being careful not to touch its roots. He wiped at the bloody gash on his cheek. "So you are here."
"That's a relief," Remus admitted as he pulled Sirius up to stand. "Now we'll at least--"
He saw Snape come down the slope behind Evans, looking more sour and pale that usual in the feeble wand light. Remus felt James come up behind him, and the five settled into an uneasy silence, watching each other and waiting.
He knew James and Sirius were both staring at Snape, as they did every time they saw him. He glared back, clutching his lit wand tightly. Evans was watching the three of them with some hesitancy, probably worried her interruption would provoke a fight. Remus looked skyward for a moment before addressing her.
"Evans, do you know where we are?"
She blinked at him in surprise and considered. "I think it's the Forbidden Forest. Isn't it?"
"No, it's not," replied Sirius.
"How do you know that?" asked Snape.
"Detention," James answered quickly. "Hagrid sometimes needs some help out there."
Not technically a lie, Remus reflected. They all jumped as the willow behind them emitted an irate creak.
"Better question: how do we get out of here?" asked Sirius. He hesitated and gave Evans an awkward nod, "Thank you, by the way."
Evans smiled. "We used the Patronus Charm," she answered, and Remus wondered bitterly why he himself hadn't thought of using that spell.
"Great! Could we use it again?" James sounded chipper, but Remus could see his eyes darting back and forth between the looming trees.
Snape sneered. "What, can't famous Potter cast one himself?" he asked icily.
Fighting was the last thing they needed. Before James could retort, Remus waved his wand. "Expecto Patronum."
His familiar white wolfdog bounded forward, then paused to look back at him expectantly. He saw surprise flit across Lily's and Snape's faces as he turned to look at them. "Which way should we go?"
If they were not in the Forbidden Forest, then there was no longer any reason to head east. Lily sighed heavily and suggest they follow the Four Point Spell North, claiming that they were bound to reach the edge sooner or later. No one else had any desire to challenge this. The bounding Malamute took off down the visibly widening path, Remus close behind, followed by James and Sirius. Severus and Lily hung slightly behind.
"If the fearless heroes have their own way of conjuring a Patronus, then is there any reason for us to stay with them?" Severus muttered.
"Do you honestly care?" Lily shook her head in amazement. "Listen, Sev, we're all stuck out here together. D'you think you can just... swallow your pride until we get out of the forest?" He set his jaw tightly and she gave him an exasperated look. "It is our fault they're here, you know."
He raised an eyebrow. "And?"
"...You're a piece of work, Sev."
He opened his mouth to retort but she trotted ahead out of whispering range. He sighed in disgust and hurried after the others, unable to ignore the way the trees shuddered and creaked as the Patronus passed them.
Soon enough the trees began to thin, and moonlight shone down in brilliant patches. Severus heard James whoop and he threw his eyes to the heavens. Suddenly they were past the trees, staring out at a wide, grassy plain. The Patronus seemed as happy as its master, barking silently and chasing its tail. Remus beamed as they watching it disappear. Sirius said something to James that Severus didn't catch. Lily was out of breath, her bag hanging off the crook of her arm, some wayward leaves in her hair. She glanced back at him and he smiled despite himself. They'd actually managed to get out.
Severus looked around at their surroundings. The moon was high in the sky - it must have been past midnight - but there was no castle in sight. Plain hills rolled off in every direction, with the occasional white spots signaling sheep or some such, but no Hogwarts. Anywhere. The only sign of civilization he could see was a long, wide dirt road, about a hundred paces off. It went east and west, disappearing into the distance in both directions. There were no signs or markers anywhere along it. He didn't try to kid himself that it was the road from Hogsmeade - if it was, it would have been curving around the Lake.
He looked at Lily, who looked at the other three, and they started walking. Maybe they would see something from there.
"So which way should we follow?" mused Sirius as they stood on the road fifteen minutes later. Hills still rolled off in every direction. There was no sign of Hogwarts, or any other castle, or any town, or crossroads, or signs, or any sort of landmark absolutely anywhere. "I mean, I doubt that making camp here would be a good idea, so--"
"Look out!"
Lily grabbed his shoulders and forced him off the path. The other boys followed after, looking around wildly for whatever she had seen.
"Are you mental, Evans? What--"
Severus felt it before he saw it. A sudden chill down his spine. Something was flying up from the eastern path. As it drew nearer, he could make out a black hooded cloak in the wind, and his sense of dread grew as it came closer. Severus' instinct said "Dementor," except when he looked more closely...
Sirius had frozen at the sound of hoofbeats. "A horse?" he whispered.
The cloaked figure was riding a horse, decked out in armor. Severus could even see metal glinting off the rider's hands. It wasn't a dementor, then. But something in his gut told him not to lower his wand.
They watched as the rider cantered to a halt almost on top of them. Severus noticed Lily take a stumbling leap backwards. She looked absolutely terrified. He shifted to put himself between her and the rider, who was now leering down at them from under its hood. It was impossible to see the rider's face in the dark, but under the bright moonlight he thought he could see dark wet stains on the fabric. And the horse's hooves. Severus was just starting to debate whether this rider could be a type of dark faery he'd read about when it suddenly uttered a raspy hiss.
"Shire..! Baggins...!"
Severus felt his mouth drop open slightly. Could that possibly be Parseltongue? Before he could speak, Lily shoved her way past him and stood before the dark rider. Her hands were trembling, but her voice was clear.
"The Bagginses live in Hobbiton. I heard they were headed West."
The rider let cry an ear-splitting screech and kicked his mount. It charged down the road and within a few moments was gone. The four wizards stared after it for a long time, then one by one turned their heads to look at Lily.
She was biting her lower lip, eyes wide and fearful, as though she knew something they didn't, and dreaded it. She turned to the road, running her hand distractedly under her bangs.
"The East Road... that had to be the Old Forest... a Nazgul... Oh my dear god, what the hell did I do?"
"Evans."
James had finally found his voice. She stopped short, and it took a moment for her eyes to focus on him. Severus' blood went cold; she looked on the verge of tears. He saw James step forward to her cautiously, obviously trying hard to not upset her further. "I just have two questions," he said with forced calm. "Where are we, and how do you know?"
The witch sighed heavily and dropped her hands to her sides. "I think I just zapped us into Middle Earth."
Chapter 1 of my draft. I am going to say, over and over again, this is a draft. Especially around portion 6 when things get very weird and disjointed.
Note: this REQUIRES the reader to either have read both all of the Harry Potter series and Lord of the Rings, or just not care about spoilers. If you haven't read "The Prince's Tale," you're going to wonder why Severus Snape is hanging around with Lily Evans. And some of the Lord of the Rings references are not in the movie, so, you should be prepared.
Enjoy.
This is a draft of my story, the result of my effort at National Novel-Writing Month. Even this disclaimer/introduction, because I am that cheap. I say again, it is a draft. Towards the end, it gets very scattered and full of random notes. It shifts from actually story to plot summary at random intervals. I believe I repeat myself many times over. Also, I fear the characters are a little assassinated. Severus Snape is not enough of a bastard (don't get me wrong, he's an understandable and somewhat admirable anti-hero, but I like poor Neville better. Let's call a bastard a bastard), Lily has been possessed by Hermione (Muggle-born who knows everything and is unstoppable with magical spells), Remus has more angst and trepidation than he should (I apologize), and James and Sirius are indistinguishable from Biggs and Wedge. Don't get me started on the Lord of the Rings characters. But I hope you can enjoy it, and please give me your opinion about the characterization and where it seems to be headed. Cheers!
"Heads up, Snivellus!"
Severus Snape ducked and whipped out his wand as something exploded on the wall to his left. Peter Pettigrew was already halfway down the corridor, his shrill giggle echoing slightly off the walls. Interesting that he'd had the guts to do that without Potter or Black around. Severus scowled as he straightened up and examined the smear on the wall, ignoring the other students now hurrying away. Bubotuber pus. How nice. And since most of the school believed that James Potter had "saved his life" the previous week, Severus couldn't complain to anyone without appearing, as Lily had put it, "ungrateful." He swore under his breath as he scooped up his fallen book bag and continued down to the Great Hall.
He sat down at the edge of the Slytherin table, declining the seat Avery offered with as much politeness as he could manage. He'd been in a bad mood for most of the week, ever since Potter had dragged him out from under the Whomping Willow, kicking and cursing. Potter had gotten bashed in the head by a swinging branch and landed a night in the hospital wing. Severus had gotten detention and an even worse reputation that he had already. He sighed and pulled out his potions textbook. He just couldn't deal with people right now.
"Something got you down today?"
"Lily!" he smiled in surprise and slammed his textbook shut. It was rare for her to seek him out at lunch. "How are-- Hello."
She smiled warmly at him, ignoring the several nearby Slytherins who were giving her icy stares. Severus hesitated a moment, then gathered up his things and headed out of the hall with her.
"You didn't need to do that," she said that in a tone of concern. "I wasn't going to stay, I just wanted to ask you something."
"Don't worry about it, he assured her. "What is it?"
"Well," she hesitated, leaning against the stone wall of the corridor, "remember a few weeks ago I was worrying about my Divination O.W.L.?
I said not to, because Divination's a waste of time. You either have the gift, or you don't. Why do you ask?"
"Because," Lily started, and then lowered her voice, "after that you mentioned the Potions O.W.L--"
He laughed in disbelief. "How can you possibly be worried about Potions?"
"I'm not!" She blushed slightly. "I know you and I are both well-prepared for that." She was referring to the hours they'd spent practicing and quizzing each other in Slughorn's classroom every evening. "Actually, this would give us a break from studying."
Severus smiled, intrigued. "Go on."
"Well, Divination and Potions got me thinking: what if you could brew a potion that let you divine the future?" She paused, looking at him expectantly. "Well?"
He blinked, and steepled his fingers together out of habit as he considered. "A draught that mimics Seer properties..."
"Or a divining glass," Lily added. She was never eager to drink a potion, even one that hadn't come out of the classroom. "But do you know of anything like that? Something that we could make?"
"I've heard, vaguely," he put great emphasis on this word, "of such things. But those potions would be beyond anything we've tried before."
"How beyond?"
"So beyond that you only learn about them when you're studying for a career in potions. After Hogwarts." Severus shook his head. "We couldn't attempt any of them at the level we are now. I'm sure Professor Slughorn knows the methods, but I can't see him letting fifth-years try them out, because magic dealing with time can be disastrous if done wrong."
Lily hesitated for a moment. "It still wouldn't hurt to ask." Severus gave her a suspicious look but she continued doggedly.
"You're the best in our year at Potions, Sev. You know it, I know it. Maybe Professor Slughorn would be willing to make an exception, maybe even help us. Come on, Sev." She grabbed his elbow as he started to turn away. "I know you're curious, too."
Damn. He tried to avoid her gaze, a reluctant smile on his face. Through a lot of their time at Hogwarts, the only thing that had kept them together as friends had been their common passion for potions. Severus had straight skill and intuition, the sense of timing and method imperative to delicate mixtures. Lily had this same intuition with ingredients, combined with sheer nerve. She took risks with her potions, always having a rational explanation on hand. And as his Potions partner for nearly every Gryffindor/Slytherin class for nearly five years, she knew he'd never leave a question like this one unanswered.
So it didn't surprise Severus in the least when he found himself seeking out Professor Slughorn later that afternoon to ask his advice on potions that revealed the future.
"I've never tried anything like this."
Severus emptied his arms and, as several jars clattered and rolled across the surface of the desk, snatched up an old, heavily creased piece of parchment. He held it a foot from his face and slowly leaned back against the desk behind him.
Slughorn had been hesitant when he first asked, but when Severus mentioned it was Lily Evans' idea, the professor gladly relinquished instructions to a "simple" potion called the "Liquid Looking Glass." It didn't sound very difficult to make - all ingredients they'd handled before, and only a week to brew - the tricky part, as far as Severus could see, depended on the will and discipline of the mixer.
"You need an idea of what you want to see in the mirror. And you need to keep that idea fixed in your mind as you're making it. This potion is designed to show you anything, from what's inside there," he pointed to an old, weather-beaten trunk in the corner of the room, "to what Shaw's aunt did last Friday at 7:00." He saw Lily nod absently, fiddling with her wand almost unconsciously. He cleared his throat and continued. "So if you want to see your own future, you have to be specific. But not extremely. You could say 'What will I be doing five years hence?' or something like that. Or you could say, 'Show me my ten greatest achievements."
Lily smiled, leaning on the side of the desk. "I love it when they're flexible like that." She suddenly frowned. "So does that mean each potion is only good for seeing one thing?"
Severus nodded. "That's why it's not insanely complicated. The mixture loses its potency within minutes, after the images fade. You only have time to answer one question. That's partly why it's important to know what you want to see." He paused, considering. "And since it's so maker-oriented, you should be primary mixer. I'll just be here to help."
Lily nodded in agreement but her frown deepened and she pulled down Severus' hand to angle the parchment toward her. "Do you think there's a way to make it last longer?"
Her putting her hand on his was unusual, and a little unsettling. Severus had deemed it none of his business to ask if Lily had a reason to want to see her future, but as she examined the parchment, he couldn't help but feel a bit concerned.
He shrugged off this feeling and handed the paper to Lily. "You're the primary mixer."
A week later, the potion had reached a luminous periwinkle blue. It lacked the faint silver tint it was supposed to have at this point and Severus was quick to point this out.
"I think it's because of the unicorn parts. I crushed the horn instead of powdering it, and decreased the amount of blood needed by one-twentieth." Lily wiped the back of her hand across her brow. "The way I see it, it's still evenly distributed, but longer-lasting. What do you think?"
"I think we should ask the professor's advice before we go any further."
Lily rolled her eyes, but nodded. The classroom door opened loudly behind them. "Ah, Miss Evans. Mr. Snape. How is it coming along?"
Severus turned around. "It's fine, Professor, but I think we need your advice--" He stopped short as he saw Professor Slughorn stroll into the room, followed by James Potter and Sirius Black. They both returned his look of distaste and it took all his concentrated efforts to turn his head back to his teacher. "We experimented a bit. I'd like to know what you think before we continue."
"Evans!" James brightened considerably and held his hand up in greeting. "Don't tell me you're in detention too?"
"I'm not you, Mr. Potter," said Lily haughtily. To the Professor, she explained, "I changed a little in the procedures, but all the ingredients are the same." He gave her a questioning look, and she handed him the instruction sheet, with various annotations that Severus had scribbled in. "I tried to adjust the potion to make it last longer. But do you think it would have other effects?"
Severus watched Slughorn as he sat down at his desk to examine the list. In his own mind, there were undoubtedly some effects that he and Lily wouldn't have counted on. But of the three of them, only Slughorn had enough experience to be able to say what they were.
He heard a snicker and glanced behind him. James and Sirius were sitting at a desk at the back of the room, whispering together and laughing. Sirius caught him watching them and waved. He immediately looked away, and could hear them both laugh a little louder.
Slughorn came back and handed the list to Lily. "Well, Miss Evans, these adjustments will certainly make the potion more long-lasting. In fact, if you do this final step alternating clockwise and then counter-clockwise stirs, I believe you could make the potion's effects permanent."
Severus' jaw dropped. Lily beamed. "Thank you, sir! That had occurred to me, but I'm glad you could confirm it."
"I wasn't quite finished," Slughorn's expression looked hesitant. "I cannot be sure that the potion's active time is the only thing you've changed. Potions are very tricky that way. So my advice is to be very careful on this last step. I take it you have an idea of what you want to see, yes?" Lily nodded. "That image is most important during the final phase of the brewing. Do not let it waver, do not let yourself be distracted from that idea. Do you understand?"
"Yes sir."
"Good." Slughorn smiled, reassured. "I trust your judgment, Miss Evans. Also," he glanced behind him to look at James and Sirius, who seemed to have started a game of Exploding Snap. "Those two have detention this evening until nine. If they will distract you here, I can send them to scrub out my store room instead."
Severus pictured James kneeling on the grimy floor of the store room, moaning over the filth on his robes, and smiled to himself. By the look in her eye, Lily was obviously envisioning something similar, but she shook her head. "That won't be necessary, Sir. Thank you."
Severus blinked in surprise, but said nothing. He bent his head over the potion, watching the fluid slowly coax itself around the cauldron. He vaguely heard Slughorn speaking behind him to the miscreants. "Two hundred lines, 'I will not disrupt my professor's class.' And you will get these back at nine." He snatched up their cards and put the deck in his pocket.
"Sev," Lily tapped his shoulder. "Can you hand me the ladle?"
They worked diligently for an hour or so in silence. Lily was so focused on her stirring that her sleeve caught on the silver knife and knocked it to the floor. Severus stumbled a bit to catch it, and heard soft clapping behind him. James and Sirius were beaming, long finished with their lines, and now just sitting there, whispering to each other. Severus flushed and shoved the knife in his pocket.
"Professor?"
Everyone except Lily glanced toward the door as a boy appeared in the doorway. Severus recognized him as the Fourth Year Regulus Black. The boy nodded towards him, and to his brother Sirius, before approaching Professor Slughorn at his desk. "Professor McGonagall asked to see you, Professor. She said it's urgent."
Slughorn raised his brows in surprise, then glanced at Severus, who looked at Lily, who had her face so close to the potion they could see her reflection. "Do you two still need my assistance at all?" When Severus shook his head, Slughorn smiled and followed Regulus out, dropping James' and Sirius' card deck in front of them as he passed.
As soon as he was gone, Sirius put his feet up on the desk and swooped up the cards. "Well, that's benevolent of him, isn't it?" he said in a loud voice, "But couldn't he at least dismiss us too, before he left?"
"Must have slipped his mind, Padfoot." James glanced down at his watch. "Like the time. We've still got five minutes."
Severus heard Sirius groan loudly as he turned back to Lily. She was standing now, beckoning him to come closer. "I think it's almost done!"
He rushed forward and stared into the potion, which had become as clear as water, but gave off flecks of brilliant silver. The mixture swirled and gleamed, and Severus' face broke into a broad smile. "It's beautiful," he murmured.
"I just need to add a fraction of dragon claw, and then I can look." Lily moved closer, her long red hair flowed down off her shoulder. She bit her lip slightly, watching the liquid as if transfixed. "Interesting," she said, almost to herself. "It looks a lot like Galadriel's mirror."
"What?"
Lily smiled. "Never mind. So, you'll monitor the potion while I prepare the claw, all right?" Severus nodded, still confused about the reference.
The classroom door opened again and they looked up. Severus' eyes darkened as he recognized Remus Lupin, who, he remembered, was a Gryffindor prefect.
"Evans, Snape." Remus halfheartedly lifted his hand in greeting and cautiously moved forward to where his friends sat. "Sirius, James. Professor Slughorn was caught up in something, so he told me to tell you you're dismissed."
"Perfect!" Sirius sprang up and started gathering his and James' affects. "Come on, P-- Prongs? Where'd you--?"
"'Ello, Evans."
Severus hadn't even seen James come up behind them. The boy had sidled up to Lily, who was now grinding the claw with a mortar and pestle, and leaned very close to her ear. The spoon in Severus' hand snapped in half and he heard a faint simmering noise.
"I really don't get it," Sirius sighed as he dropped the bags and folded his arms. "I mean, nothing against Evans, but when any girl in the school would give her own wand to be his girlfriend, why bother with the one that doesn't?"
"I think it's part of the appeal," Remus replied dryly. He flipped open one of the school bags. "Do you often carry all of your textbooks at once?"
"We didn't have much off-time today." Sirius laughed as he watched James' futile attempts to even make conversation with Lily. Not that he liked watching his friend get shot down, but the look on Snape's face was priceless.
Sirius stopped smiling. The classroom suddenly felt very chill. Not cold as in wintry, but it felt like all the heat had flowed out the door in the space of a second. Neither Evans, James, or Snape seemed to notice, but he looked at Remus, whose expression was just as bemused.
"Do you feel that?"
"Potter, honestly!" Lily's voice was raised. "Don't bother me right now!"
"I'm bothering you? I'm sorry." James withdrew a bit and she turned back to the bowl. He took a glance at the parchment of instructions. "'Liquid Looking Glass'? Is that as unimpressive as it sounds?"
"Ai Iluvatar!" Lily whirled around to look him in the eyes and Sirius saw her dump the whole pestle of dragon claw into the glowing mixture. "Potter, I have to concentrate! And if you mess this potion up for me--"
"Lily!"
Snape was staring in horror at Lily's mixture, which was sloshing and foaming violently. The ceiling above was washed with sky blue and silver lights flickered everywhere, almost blinding in their brightness. The entire potion vaporized and everything vanished in the mist. Sirius felt Remus' hand grab at his wrist and pull him out of the door, heard Lily's voice from a distance urging them to get out, heard James yell something, but it sounded so far away. Then the stone floor beneath him was gone, and everything seemed to fall.
Severus stopped in his tracks, nearly pulling Lily off her feet. The mist had cleared in an instant, but it did not reveal Slughorn's classroom. They were surrounded by towering old trees, and leaves dropped from long gnarled branches. The wan light gave everything a lurid hue; the air felt stifling and cold.
"Is this... the Forbidden Forest?" He'd never actually been there, so it was hard to be sure. But this was certainly how the rumors described it. Maybe even more so. Deliberately unfriendly.
"I hope so," he heard Lily whisper. She had her hand on her forehead and was turning slowly, taking everything in. Severus saw her eyes grow wider with every step.
She suddenly leapt forward and scooped up one of their school bags, almost buried under leaves. Severus knelt down beside her and found the instruction parchment, their other school bag, Lily's mortal and pestle, and the overturned silver bowl which had, up until that moment, contained the potion.
Lily groaned softly as Severus picked up the bowl and examined it. Completely dry, with no traces of any of the mixture left. The potion had been used up and had vanished as completely as though it had never existed. He handed the bowl to Lily, who clutched the rim as she struggled to find words.
"Somehow," she murmured, "I think I buggered it up."
"I think so, too," Severus admitted as he folded and pocketed the instructions. There was no point in lying to comfort her. This was not what they'd been trying to do. "Either way, we should find our way out of here." She took his hand and shoved the bowl into her bag, then shouldered it. Severus took the other and took out his wand.
"Point me." The wand whipped off to the left, North. "The Forest is west of the castle, right? So let's go this way."
"Hallo? Anyone here?"
James looked in every directed, and found nothing but giant looming trees. As soon as the potion reacted he'd grabbed Lily and sprinted for the door, but she'd fallen out of his grip and he'd found himself alone. How alone? Where in the hell was he? This couldn't be the Forbidden Forest - he'd spent enough time there to prove that. The gloom here was different, difficult to describe. Tangible. Like the very trees were hostile. James suppressed a shiver as he crept over a thick root.
He heard a voice echoing over a rise. He sprinted over the hill and through the trees almost without thinking, fixed on finding the source of that voice.
"James! Evans!"
"Moony!" It was him! James leaped over a fallen log and slipped down an embankment to land facedown on the ground. The first thing he saw as he raised his throbbing head was a giant lowering willow tree, balanced precariously above a shallow streambed. He saw Remus and Sirius beneath it. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, we're right dandy." Sirius was sitting on one of the willow's massive roots, soaking wet and massaging his ankle. "Considering we landed in that stream there and nearly broke our necks." Sirius shook his head like a dog and James grinned at the familiar gesture.
"Did Evans or Snape tell you what that potion was?" asked Remus. He was also soaked and had a few leaves stuck in his hair. "I think that's what landed us here." He looked around and added, "Wherever here is."
"It was called a Liquid Looking Glass." James soured as he thought back to his latest defeat. "I didn't get the impression it was supposed to do this, thought." He looked around at the trees, one of which gave an ominous creak. "It's not the Forbidden Forest, is it?"
Remus and Sirius both shook their heads. James sat down next to them and considered their best course of action. It was getting visibly darker, and cold. He wondered vaguely whether Evans and Snape had landed somewhere nearby, and whether Lily was angry. She'd probably been serious when she said he was distracting her.
James blinked and shook his head. Why was he suddenly so tired?
"Sun's set. We should probably find a road or something," Remus said. He stood and looked around, squinting in the growing dark.
"Maybe we should stay here instead," Sirius countered. The other two looked at him and he shrugged. "What? It's not the Forest, so we have no idea what's out here. And it's too late and too dark to try moving now. We'll fall off a cliff or something. We should probably just make camp for tonight and try in the morning."
"Sirius, shouldn't we at least find out where we are first?" Remus glanced at James for support. "I mean, since we don't know what's out here, shouldn't we explore a little, find out what's here, and then find adequate cover?"
James had to admit that a rest sounded very good right now, but Remus had a valid point. A nagging doubt finally brought him to his feet. He lit his wand and turned around. "Come on, Padfoot. Let's see what we can find."
Sirius seemed not to have heard him, but instead had changed to dog form and curled up at the base of the tree. James frowned in indignation.
"Padfoot."
Remus suddenly gripped his arm. "James!"
James looked up quickly, raising his wand. Several of the willow's thin branches were snaking down toward them as the root under Sirius started to move.
Lily sighed as she picked another snagging thorn out of her robes. The trees were growing thicker with every step, obscuring their path and pushing them in every direction they didn't want to go. They picked their way gingerly, avoiding the trees that seemed more sinister, but even with their caution, their cloaks were caught in branches too often for either's liking.
"Do you think using incendio could make a difference here?" Severus asked. His tone was calm, but Lily could tell he was getting frustrated.
"Let's not risk it, she answered. Who knew what would happen? She yelped as another tree root knocked her feet out from under her, and prayed that her mounting suspicions were wrong. Please let us be lost in the English countryside. Please don't let us be where I think we are...
"Lily, do you hear that?"
Shouting voices. They took off in the direction of the noise, but the trees cut them off, heaving their branches across the path. They pushed and shoved but the thick wood was solid as stone and wouldn't budge.
"They're consciously blocking the way!" Severus murmured in astonishment. The light from his wand-tip was shaking slightly.
"Please let us through!" Lily called to the trees in desperation. "We mean you no harm! We only want to pass through! Do you understand? Please!"
"Lily!" She felt Severus yank her backwards just as one large, claw-like branch fell from the treetops onto the spot she'd been standing a second before. The branch crackled as it tightened into a fist and ascended back among the leaves. She swallowed hard, thinking. What do you do if you can't negotiate with a tree?
"I wonder..." Severus helped her into a standing position and stared up into the lowering foliage. "Remember the charm Shreck taught us a few weeks ago?"
She blinked. "The Patronus?"
This year's Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was Professor Shreck, a researcher of Dark creatures and artifacts. Instead of spending the year reviewing basic spells for OWLs, like most of the other teachers, Professor Shreck had assembled a curriculum of advancing defensive magic, reasoning that if the students could pass his class, the OWLs would be a doss. Not the most popular teachers of the year, but Lily enjoyed the challenge immensely.
This was hardly the time to bring up classes. "What about it?"
"If you can conjure one, I think it would help right now."
Fire shot from James' wand and smoldered several of the willow's leafy tendrils. Sirius let out another yell of pain as the tree roots clamped more tightly on him, despite Remus' attempts to pry them open. Blood was flowing freely down his arm, where the willow's vine had grabbed him. He'd only just had time to cut himself free before James pulled out his wand.
"Prongs, stop burning the bloody tree! Stop!"
The flames immediately vanished as James jumped back to avoid the tree's tendrils. "The knot!" he suddenly exclaimed as he dived around to the other side of the tree. "Find its secret knot!"
"This is a Whomping Willow?" Remus muttered in disbelief. He tried Relashio on the roots again and Sirius gasped as the roots dug into his rib cage. "Secret knot! Right!" Remus looked around wildly for a knot on the tree. "Hang on, Sirius!"
"There's no bloody knot!" he heard James shout, then heard what sounded like a whip crack and a cry of pain. Remus looked around for James but didn't dare leave Sirius' side. He tried every spell he could think of on the root, but to no avail. Sirius' struggling became weaker as Remus used a Severing Charm on another tendril snaking around his middle. It was getting harder to move. He almost could hear the tree's anger, if that voice wasn't the onset of delirium. There was another voice, too, but it wasn't coming from the tree. It was coming from the same direction as a shining white light...
And suddenly the tree relaxed. The tendrils drooped, lifeless, as the tree straightened itself up to its natural posture. The roots opened and Sirius scrambled out, shaking and gasping, his robes torn and slightly bloody. Remus jumped forward and grabbed his shoulder before he collapsed. "Are you all right?"
"What the bloody hell was that?" he shuddered. Remus patted him awkwardly, not knowing how to answer. They both looked up at the sound of footsteps on the grass.
"Are you three all okay?"
"Evans!" James slipped on the wet leaves as he came out from behind the willow, being careful not to touch its roots. He wiped at the bloody gash on his cheek. "So you are here."
"That's a relief," Remus admitted as he pulled Sirius up to stand. "Now we'll at least--"
He saw Snape come down the slope behind Evans, looking more sour and pale that usual in the feeble wand light. Remus felt James come up behind him, and the five settled into an uneasy silence, watching each other and waiting.
He knew James and Sirius were both staring at Snape, as they did every time they saw him. He glared back, clutching his lit wand tightly. Evans was watching the three of them with some hesitancy, probably worried her interruption would provoke a fight. Remus looked skyward for a moment before addressing her.
"Evans, do you know where we are?"
She blinked at him in surprise and considered. "I think it's the Forbidden Forest. Isn't it?"
"No, it's not," replied Sirius.
"How do you know that?" asked Snape.
"Detention," James answered quickly. "Hagrid sometimes needs some help out there."
Not technically a lie, Remus reflected. They all jumped as the willow behind them emitted an irate creak.
"Better question: how do we get out of here?" asked Sirius. He hesitated and gave Evans an awkward nod, "Thank you, by the way."
Evans smiled. "We used the Patronus Charm," she answered, and Remus wondered bitterly why he himself hadn't thought of using that spell.
"Great! Could we use it again?" James sounded chipper, but Remus could see his eyes darting back and forth between the looming trees.
Snape sneered. "What, can't famous Potter cast one himself?" he asked icily.
Fighting was the last thing they needed. Before James could retort, Remus waved his wand. "Expecto Patronum."
His familiar white wolfdog bounded forward, then paused to look back at him expectantly. He saw surprise flit across Lily's and Snape's faces as he turned to look at them. "Which way should we go?"
If they were not in the Forbidden Forest, then there was no longer any reason to head east. Lily sighed heavily and suggest they follow the Four Point Spell North, claiming that they were bound to reach the edge sooner or later. No one else had any desire to challenge this. The bounding Malamute took off down the visibly widening path, Remus close behind, followed by James and Sirius. Severus and Lily hung slightly behind.
"If the fearless heroes have their own way of conjuring a Patronus, then is there any reason for us to stay with them?" Severus muttered.
"Do you honestly care?" Lily shook her head in amazement. "Listen, Sev, we're all stuck out here together. D'you think you can just... swallow your pride until we get out of the forest?" He set his jaw tightly and she gave him an exasperated look. "It is our fault they're here, you know."
He raised an eyebrow. "And?"
"...You're a piece of work, Sev."
He opened his mouth to retort but she trotted ahead out of whispering range. He sighed in disgust and hurried after the others, unable to ignore the way the trees shuddered and creaked as the Patronus passed them.
Soon enough the trees began to thin, and moonlight shone down in brilliant patches. Severus heard James whoop and he threw his eyes to the heavens. Suddenly they were past the trees, staring out at a wide, grassy plain. The Patronus seemed as happy as its master, barking silently and chasing its tail. Remus beamed as they watching it disappear. Sirius said something to James that Severus didn't catch. Lily was out of breath, her bag hanging off the crook of her arm, some wayward leaves in her hair. She glanced back at him and he smiled despite himself. They'd actually managed to get out.
Severus looked around at their surroundings. The moon was high in the sky - it must have been past midnight - but there was no castle in sight. Plain hills rolled off in every direction, with the occasional white spots signaling sheep or some such, but no Hogwarts. Anywhere. The only sign of civilization he could see was a long, wide dirt road, about a hundred paces off. It went east and west, disappearing into the distance in both directions. There were no signs or markers anywhere along it. He didn't try to kid himself that it was the road from Hogsmeade - if it was, it would have been curving around the Lake.
He looked at Lily, who looked at the other three, and they started walking. Maybe they would see something from there.
"So which way should we follow?" mused Sirius as they stood on the road fifteen minutes later. Hills still rolled off in every direction. There was no sign of Hogwarts, or any other castle, or any town, or crossroads, or signs, or any sort of landmark absolutely anywhere. "I mean, I doubt that making camp here would be a good idea, so--"
"Look out!"
Lily grabbed his shoulders and forced him off the path. The other boys followed after, looking around wildly for whatever she had seen.
"Are you mental, Evans? What--"
Severus felt it before he saw it. A sudden chill down his spine. Something was flying up from the eastern path. As it drew nearer, he could make out a black hooded cloak in the wind, and his sense of dread grew as it came closer. Severus' instinct said "Dementor," except when he looked more closely...
Sirius had frozen at the sound of hoofbeats. "A horse?" he whispered.
The cloaked figure was riding a horse, decked out in armor. Severus could even see metal glinting off the rider's hands. It wasn't a dementor, then. But something in his gut told him not to lower his wand.
They watched as the rider cantered to a halt almost on top of them. Severus noticed Lily take a stumbling leap backwards. She looked absolutely terrified. He shifted to put himself between her and the rider, who was now leering down at them from under its hood. It was impossible to see the rider's face in the dark, but under the bright moonlight he thought he could see dark wet stains on the fabric. And the horse's hooves. Severus was just starting to debate whether this rider could be a type of dark faery he'd read about when it suddenly uttered a raspy hiss.
"Shire..! Baggins...!"
Severus felt his mouth drop open slightly. Could that possibly be Parseltongue? Before he could speak, Lily shoved her way past him and stood before the dark rider. Her hands were trembling, but her voice was clear.
"The Bagginses live in Hobbiton. I heard they were headed West."
The rider let cry an ear-splitting screech and kicked his mount. It charged down the road and within a few moments was gone. The four wizards stared after it for a long time, then one by one turned their heads to look at Lily.
She was biting her lower lip, eyes wide and fearful, as though she knew something they didn't, and dreaded it. She turned to the road, running her hand distractedly under her bangs.
"The East Road... that had to be the Old Forest... a Nazgul... Oh my dear god, what the hell did I do?"
"Evans."
James had finally found his voice. She stopped short, and it took a moment for her eyes to focus on him. Severus' blood went cold; she looked on the verge of tears. He saw James step forward to her cautiously, obviously trying hard to not upset her further. "I just have two questions," he said with forced calm. "Where are we, and how do you know?"
The witch sighed heavily and dropped her hands to her sides. "I think I just zapped us into Middle Earth."