5th year. the marauders have just finished creating the map.
before this, severus can at least convince himself that running into james and sirius is bad luck. theyâre bullies.
hogwarts is only so big. eventually your paths cross. they know where he is.
he skips dinner to hide in the library. theyâre there.
he leaves potions early to take a route no one uses. theyâre waiting.
he studies in an abandoned classroom three floors away from where he usually sits. somehow they âhappenâ to walk in five minutes later.
he starts changing his routines. doubling back. deliberately taking longer routes. hiding in broom cupboards just to see if theyâre actually following him.
and severusâs paranoia is now boundless. because no one believes him? how could they? when he doesnât even have proof. when they all think heâs just being like this because the marauders are always on his nerves.
so he decides to solve the problem himself.
is someone telling them where he is? is hogwarts enchanted? are they using some obscure tracking spell? he starts testing hypotheses because this is impossible. no fifteen-year-olds should be able to predict another personâs movements with this kind of accuracy.
while trying to figure out how they keep finding him, he starts noticing all the other things that donât make sense. remus disappears every month. pomfrey escorts him off somewhere. the others get weirdly defensive whenever anyone asks where heâs been. thereâs that bloody tree on the grounds no oneâs allowed near.
in severusâs head, all of these clues become one giant mystery. he thinks if he figures out what theyâre hiding, heâll finally understand how they always know where he is.
and then sirius realizes exactly whatâs happening. instead of just telling him how to get past the whomping willow, he says something like,
âyou want to know how we keep finding you? go through the willow tonight.â
and of course severus goes.
