It was a cold miserable day in February and Sirius, James, and Peter were seated around the fire in the Gryffindor common room. It was very late, and as usual, they were the last people left.
It was also another day that Remus had “gone to visit his sick mother”. He heard the scratching of James’s quill against the parchment, with the occasional break to check his textbook, and Peter carefully turning the pages of the book he was reading. Sirius, however could not concentrate. His mind was on Remus.
In the beginning he had believed Remus, accepting that it was quite normal for his mother to fall ill, however, he only “visited her” once a month at around the same time each visit. If Remus’s mother was seriously ill, surely he would visit her more often than that. It didn’t make sense, and Sirius had become suspicious.
He was tapping the end of his quill absentmindedly on his parchment, lost in thought. He shook his head to clear it. He had to finish his essay. He glanced quickly out the window and then turned back to his parchment. He froze, and turned slowly to look back out the window, and there shining brightly back at him, was the moon, a full moon. And then everything clicked. His disappearances being monthly, coming back covered in bruises, looking more and more sickly as his “visits” approached.
“Sirius, mate, ‘you okay?” James asked him.
Sirius realized that his mouth was open, and quickly shut it.
“Yeah, fine,” he replied, attempting to smile.
James noticed nothing and turned back to his work. Sirius decided he would keep his discovery a secret for now. He wanted to ask Remus first. He knew how awful it was to be a werewolf. One of his uncles was one and had told him how painful and dangerous it was. Sirius swore to himself that before he admitted he knew to Remus, he would do whatever ever he could to help his friend and make his transformations somewhat better.
* * *
The next day Sirius woke early from awful dreams of werewolves and other frightening creatures. He lay, panting, on his bed, trying to get a grip on himself. Once he had calmed down, he changed into his robes and went down to the Great Hall. He was surprised to find Remus already sitting there, looking tired and sickly with many new bruises and scratches.
“’morning,” he said to Remus in a would be cheerful voice.
Remus only nodded in return and returned to his food. Sirius didn’t press him to talk. He knew that he had just been through a horrible ordeal. Not long after, James, Peter, and Andrew joined them.
“’you okay, Remus? You look awful!” Andrew asked Remus, with concern.
“Oh, yeah, just tired,” he replied, trying and failing to force a smile and returned to his food once again.
Andrew looked at the other three, as if asking for answers. They just shrugged and began eating.
* * *
Later that night they were once again gathered around the fire with the addition of Remus and many others, as it was still early. Sirius had finished his home work early and decided to do something he had never dreamed he would ever do; Research. He wanted to find a way to help Remus and thought it was best to start in the library where he could do it peacefully.
He stood up and gathered his things.
“Where ‘you going?” James asked.
“Library,” He replied and James goggled at him.
“Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” James asked, astounded.
“Yeah. See you later!” He said, and walked out of the portrait hole.
When he reached the library, he had no idea where to start. He looked around and found a promising looking volume. He lifted it off the shelf and began his search.
* * *
It was getting very late and Sirius hadn’t found anything. He was sitting at a small table covered in books all titled along the lines of Werewolves: A Guide to the Cures and Dangers and Everything You Need To Know About: Werewolves. He was currently browsing through the latter when a paragraph caught his eye.
Werewolves are considered by some to be among the most dangerous and foulest creatures on this earth. Unlike most creatures, however, the werewolf’s transformation is involuntary. That is what differs between an Animagi and a werewolf. An Animagi is able to change their appearance at will, whereas a werewolf is forced into the transformation. When an Animagi is present during a werewolf’s transformation, it is able to control the werewolf, making it more human, without acquiring serious injuries.
There was the answer. Right in front of him. They would become Animagi! He grinned excitedly. It was the perfect plan. They would be able to accompany Remus during his transformation and make him feel better! Sirius stuffed the old book in his bag, haphazardly put the other books back on their shelves, and raced out of the library.
He arrived at the common room several minutes later and entered the portrait hole gasping for breath. James, Peter, and Remus were once again the only ones left and all three turned around to watch him come in.
“What-” James began, but Sirius cut him off.
“Remus, can I talk t’ you for a second?” Sirius asked, still winded.
“Er…Sure, I suppose,” replied Remus, uncertainly, and Sirius led him off to a corner of the room.
The other two looked at each other perplexedly and shrugged.
Sirius and Remus came back a few minutes later, Sirius grinning from ear to ear, and Remus smiling uncertainly, a little behind him.
“Well,” Sirius began, “I’m sure you’ve both noticed that, er, Remus has been a little…off color lately, and well, a couple weeks ago I became kinda suspicious. And, well, I was looking out the window the other day, and-”
“Sirius, get to the point before I die of boredom,” James cut in, grinning.
“Alright,” Sirius took a deep breath, “Remus is a werewolf,” he said. Silence greeted this announcement.
After a minute or two of silence, James spoke. “Oh, I’m so sorry! I should’ve realized! I can’t believe…” he caught the extremely relieved look on Remus’s face. “You didn’t think we were gonna desert you, did you? Because friends are friends and we wouldn’t no matter what! The Marauders stick together, whatever furry little problem you may have!”
They all laughed. Even Remus. “Well, I was doing some research and I found a solution! Something that could really help him out!” Sirius said eagerly.
“What?!” Peter asked excitedly.
“Become Animagi! That way we can keep him company during his transformations!” Sirius replied, his eyes sparkling.
“You’re a genius, Sirius! Never in my life did I think I would ever live to see this day! Sirius Black doing research!” James teased, putting his hand on his heart and looking up at the ceiling.
Sirius slapped him playfully, and they all laughed.
* * *
The next several weeks went by in a blur, and before they knew it, May had arrived. The four Marauders had sneaked into the restricted section not long ago and had found instructions on how to become an Animagi.
Every night they had read part of them, because it was very complicated, with many advanced potions to brew and complicated spells involved. Remus, who was the best of the four with numbers, had calculated that it would take about three years to finish. This news, however, did not deter the others. They assured Remus that they would do it, no matter how long it took.
It also made Remus feel better during his transformations that his friends supported him and helped him through those hard times. He would remember that one day he might even have fun with his friends during the transformation, and would smile.
Why Couldn't the Good Times Last? by FredsFriend
Chapter Notes: I hope you like this chapter since it was kind of hard to write. I'm sorry it's so short!!!!! I promise that I'll make up for it the future with a much longer one!!!! Please R&R!!!!!