Remus’ pale, drawn face seemed even more so in the white glow cast by Professor McGonagall’s wand. She walked briskly ahead of him down the grassy slope toward the Forbidden Forest. The wandlight threw strange shadows around the starlit grounds, and for a moment Remus thought he saw a flash of something darting through the trees. He stopped to take a better look, but a severe look from Professor McGonagall set him on his way.
The Whomping Willow waved its branches threateningly as they approached. Staying a good distance away, Professor McGonagall levitated a branch lying nearby and used it to prod at a knothole near the ground. The tree froze, locked for the moment in a completely non-willow-like stance. McGonagall turned to Remus and said, “I’ll be here at dawn to pick you up. Mind that you stay in the house.” She laid a hand on his shoulder and spoke uncharacteristically gently. “I do wish you didn’t have to bear this. If I could, I would take your place.”
As she hurried away, Remus climbed through the hole in the trunk. She spoke empty words, but they were kindly meant. Besides, it’s not so bad, he thought. Not if you had good friends to help you bear the burden. He bent his head low and walked rapidly through the long, earthen tunnel to his least favorite place.
~*~
Sirius’ dark eyes reflected the fire dancing in the grate. James, tired after a hard Quidditch practice, was snoring in a comfy armchair. Next to Sirius, Peter’s head drooped lower and lower until finally resting on his popular friend’s shoulder. His mouth opened and drool dripped out. “Ah, for crying out loud,” Sirius muttered, shoving Peter’s head away.
James awoke to the strange sight of Sirius rubbing his sleeve on a half-asleep Peter’s shirt. “Er, maybe this is a bad time, but should we go?”
Sirius grinned at him. “Aw, and we were just getting started…”
Peter rubbed his eyes and said, “It’s only 11:00…I don’t think the moon’s out yet.”
Sirius groaned. “Yeah, but I am sick of sitting around in here! What do we have better to do? Homework?”
James and Peter agreed heartily with this logic, so James pulled his Invisibility Cloak from inside his cloak and threw it over himself and his friends. “Ouch! You stepped on my foot!” came an indignant whisper.
“Go as a rat then, Wormtail, save us the trouble!”
“Yeah, then we can step on all of you!”
An offended squeak followed this remark, and Peter scrambled up the legs of James’ jeans, settling in his pocket. The two remaining boys stepped carefully out of practice toward the portrait hole and clambered through, taking care not to wake the Fat Lady snoozing in her frame.
At about the third floor, James paused. Sirius nearly pulled the Invisibility Cloak off him before stopping and hissing, “What?”
James shushed him. “Listen.”
Sirius listened and faintly heard, as through a pipe, a clatter and bump. Then, silence. “What about it? It’s probably a ghost or the poltergeist or Hattie Falcon and Jack Yates making out in the trophy room.”
“Is it true about those two?” James asked, and then mentally slapped himself. “It’s only that Snape was acting oddly today…more than normal,” he amended.
“Who cares? It’s full moon!” Sirius laughed quietly, looking around for anyone patrolling the halls.
They slipped out through a handy secret passageway and emerged from the blank stone of the castle wall onto the lawn bathed in moonlight. Every blade of grass was edged by the white light, and shadows seemed more forbidding than when surrounded by classmates in the brightness of day. The boys and rat took no notice as they walked toward the Forbidden Forest. Peter wriggled out of James’ pocket and pelted off himself into the darkness.
James tensed every muscle in his body, concentrating hard on the form of a stag. He closed his eyes and opened them in a different world. The air that had meant nothing to him was flooding his brain with messages. Grass. Water. Stone. Danger. Danger! However, he knew better than to pay attention to that particular one, for the danger the stag’s nose feared was none other than the bearlike dog standing a pace away from him. Their clothes, wands, and Invisibility Cloak had disappeared with them in a process James never really understood but wasn’t sure he wanted to anyway. He lowered his head and prodded Sirius with long antlers, prompting him to go.
Sirius led the way in their odd processional. Tail waving high in the air, he cavorted around, showing off high spirits by chasing his own tail and performing acrobatics most dogs wouldn’t attempt. He growled playfully at James, jumping on his back. James swung his head and bumped him, none too gently. Sirius grinned a doggy grin and sped off toward the Whomping Willow. James lowered his head to the grass, and a repulsive looking rat ran up his muzzle, and sat behind his left ear. James darted towards the Whomping Willow, racing the powerful black dog leading him. James sped up and almost overtook the black dog. Together they raced, running through the frosted grass. Peter sat atop the stag’s head, his tiny claws digging deep into James’ fur. Abruptly, Sirius swerved and stopped, one ear up and paw pointing towards the Forbidden Forest. James slid across the dewy grass as he tried to stop, almost sitting down on his fuzzy tail. The dog motioned James with his head and they treaded carefully. Sirius’ face was concentrated and cautious, his doggy instinct on the alert. James followed Sirius, and soon he could hear the distant laughter of boys. After a few minutes, they saw a dim wand light ahead. Together they crept up and hid behind a group of trees.
~*~
Remus shuddered and collapsed, his whole body in torture. Every part of his body felt like it was going to burst. Suddenly he felt the pain of a thousand needles puncturing his skin. Coarse dark fur jutted out of his skin. His mouth and nose agonizingly elongated into a grotesque muzzle as he screamed. The yearning for blood overcame his emotions and mentality. He slowly and painfully rose to his feet, looking around. His gaze fell on an old broken mirror and saw yellow eyes glaring back at him. He stared back, becoming angry at the creature whose stare never seemed to falter. How dare this monstrosity even look at him? He flung himself at the mirror with all his might, growling ferociously. The mirror shattered, the broken shards slicing into his paws. He screamed in pain as they started to bleed. As he tried to wrench them out with his teeth, they sunk in even deeper, cutting through muscle and veins alike. Why did he have to endure such terrible pain?
The Marauders' Escapade by Elder Wand
Chapter Notes: Yeah, this chapter seems to be a little bit gory, for when Remus is a werewolf. Just warning everyone.