Remus wasn’t sure what he was going to do. The full moon was quickly approaching, and he knew he had to make up some excuse for his friends. He had no idea what to tell them, however, and it wasn’t until Sirius asked him, the day preceding the full moon, what they should do that weekend that he brought it up at all.
“I can’t do anything; I’ll be gone.”
Sirius frowned. “Gone? Where?”
“I- my mum is sick.”
At first it seemed the perfect excuse. Then Sirius told James and Peter, and they asked all sorts of questions Remus didn’t have an answer to.
“What’s wrong with her?”
“I don’t really know.”
“You don’t even know what’s wrong with your own mum?”
“I mean…the healers don’t know either. Nobody’s really sure. I know it’s something to do with her….with her…skin.”
“Her skin?” James blinked. “What do you mean her skin? Is there a rash or something?”
“Maybe he doesn’t want to talk about it,” Peter said quietly. “I’m sure she’ll be alright, Remus.”
Remus almost sighed with relief. “Yeah, I’d rather not talk about her right now, if that’s okay.”
“Oh, sure,” James said. “We didn’t mean to…you know. I get it. My mum’s getting on a bit, and she sometimes gets real sick too. I wouldn’t want everyone asking questions about her.”
“It’s fine.” Remus now felt guilty. James’ mother actually had health troubles, and here he was, using his mother as an excuse to hide his own illness. He knew it wasn’t right, but he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t tell them the truth.
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James was still trying to get Lily Evans to pay attention to him. He had failed miserably each time. That is to say, she had indeed noticed him, but her attentions had never been positive. James couldn’t count how many times she had told him he had a large head, or indeed, how many different ways she had come up with to say it.
“A hairy pig’s bladder bursting with hot air is my favorite,” Sirius said as they sat down for breakfast that morning.
“I quite like grotesque bobble-head myself,” Remus replied.
“Shut up,” James said, hitting Sirius only half jokingly. Though he would never admit it, Evans’ scorn hurt him. Accustomed to getting everything he wanted, her refusal to even speak civilly to him was a huge blow to his ego. Of course, James did nothing to help the situation. Not without trying of course, but he failed to realize that what the girl really wanted was for him to let his pride take a backseat for once.
“Hey, you know what we could do this weekend, Sirius? We could play a prank on Snape. I’ve been thinking about it for a while. We could lure him out of his dorm at night, and then get him lost in the castle. He’d get into so much trouble, it would be hilarious.”
Sirius smiled, but then wrinkled his brow. “Won’t we get into trouble, though, if he tells the teacher’s we did it?”
“He won’t know it’s us, that’s the thing.”
“How will we manage that?”
James frowned. “Haven’t figured that part out yet. That’s your job, mate.”
“Give me till the end of the day, and I’ll have something,” Sirius said, grinning and looking at the Slytherin table where a sulking Snape was picking at a plate of eggs.
“What’ll I do?” Peter had half a sausage in his mouth, and shook the other half in his hand while saying this.
“Oh, I’ll come up with something for you to do, Peter, don’t worry,” Sirius said, raising his eyebrows. He turned and winked at James, who couldn’t help but laugh. He liked Peter well enough, but he was useless. He and Sirius were often teasing him for his slow wit and clumsy ways. He had no way of knowing that Peter was far more perceptive than he, Sirius, or even Remus gave him credit for.
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Peter had some idea of what the others thought of him. He knew they thought he was an idiot, but he didn’t care too much, as long as he had a spot in the group. For a while he had thought Frank Longbottom would take his place, but Frank had never connected with the others the same way Peter had. He was awkward and stupid, but he had an innocent nature that the other boys had liked.
Of course, it did hurt Peter when James or Sirius called him a name or teased him about his performance in class. He was willing to put up with it as long as he had the group. He needed them, and they all knew it. Besides, it wasn’t as though they tormented him. Most of the time Sirius and James treated him like a friend. Even when they poked fun at him, he knew it wasn’t vicious. Nevertheless, he was determined not to mess up whatever job Sirius gave him for their prank. A little more respect was something Peter would do anything to get.
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At six o’clock Remus went to Madam Pomfrey’s office as he had been instructed to do. She was waiting for him in the front of the Hospital Wing, and upon seeing him began to briskly walk towards the Entrance Hall, motioning him to follow. Without saying a word to him, she walked out of the castle and made her way towards what Remus had been told was the Whomping Willow. When she had reached the tree, she took a stick and prodded a knob on the tree, causing its previously flailing branches to lie still. Remus caught sight of a small hole at the base of the tree. She turned to Remus and finally spoke.
“Now, you’ll go into that tunnel and keep going until you reach the house. When you get into the room, you’ll wait there until morning. I’ll get the tree moving again, which will keep anyone from getting in, or you from getting out. I’ll be back in the morning to help you, all right?”
Remus noticed her face looked worried. She reached her hand out and put it on his shoulder, not saying anything. She smiled softly. Stepping back, she motioned towards the hole.
“Go on,” she said. “It’ll be all right.”
He crouched down and entered the tunnel, his heart racing as he made his way down it. It wouldn’t be long now, he could feel it. His hands and feet were trembling. He quickened his pace, his eyes searching for the end of the tunnel. When he came to it, he stepped into the room, looking around. The place actually had furniture, though it looked as though it hadn’t been used in many years. Remus sat down on the floor, waiting for the moon to rise.
He didn’t have to wait long. Soon he felt the burning sensation that started in his arms and legs and then spread to his torso and, finally, his head. His bones snapped one by one, reforming themselves in an unnatural position, tearing his skin and muscles with their new positions. They would grow back in a matter of seconds, however, along with fur. All of it was painful, but by far the worst part was the transformation of his brain, which always happened last. Just as his claws had finished forming, he would feel an intense pain in his head that then would course through his spine outwards to his extremities. His heart would race, his new body would writhe in agony, and then….he wasn’t. It was forgetting that frightened Remus most. Up until that one moment, he could bear the pain; he was used to it. But how could one ever get used to losing their memories, their morals, themselves, every month?
It happened again, however, as he knew it would. With that forgetting came a new identity. One had to be something. So he became a monster. That monster only wanted one thing: human flesh. It clawed at the walls, hoping to find some trace of human activity, a scent, anything. It ran out through the tunnel, but halted at the entrance, seeing the wild branches of the tree. Besides, it didn’t need to go any further. It had smelled something. A human had been here. A child. Following the scent back into the shack, wondering why it hadn’t smelled it before, the wolf once again searched the room. Again, nothing. It wasn’t possible. If they had come this way, they had to be here. Then, as always, the wolf would catch on that the scent was coming from its own fur. It would claw to get at the scent, tearing its own limbs to get to the warm blood and tender meat it so desperately needed. Of course, the beast didn’t do this without suffering a great deal of pain. It would scream in a way that sounded unnervingly like a human.
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Sirius had come up with a perfect plan to get Snape out of his dormitory. After Remus had left, the three remaining boys had gathered in the bedroom to discuss the plan. Sirius was quite proud of it, and he couldn’t wait to put it into motion. The other boys agreed, and everything was set up for the next day.
As they were going to sleep, Sirius sat up, hearing a noise. He got out of bed and shook James awake. James sat up, rubbing his eyes.
“What?”
“Did you hear that? Someone’s screaming.”
James didn’t say anything, listening intently. He looked up at Sirius after a few seconds.
“You’re crazy,” he said, lying back down.
“I’m telling you, James! I heard something.”
“There is nobody screaming, Sirius. Just go back to sleep.”
Sirius went back to his bed. “I heard it,” he said. “Just wait, it’ll do it again.”
“Sure,” James said, his voice muffled.
Not two minutes later, Sirius was vindicated. James’ head shot up. He looked at Sirius, who had also sat up at the sound.
“I told you,” Sirius said, gloating.
“It’s coming from outside,” James said, his brow furrowed. “Do you think it could be something from the Forbidden Forest?”
Sirius’ eyes widened. “Probably. God, I bet it’s the coolest thing ever! Only dangerous things live in there.”
“Yeah. Hey, maybe when Remus gets back, we could go in there.”
“Yeah, unless his mum dies or something.”
“Do you think she might?”
Sirius shrugged. “I don’t know. But if she’s sick enough for Remus to have to go home to see her, it must be bad.”
James shook his head. “Let’s not talk about it.”
“All right, then. I’m going to go to sleep now, okay?”
In truth, Sirius didn’t fall asleep for a long while. Though James’ theory about the sound being some sort of creature in the forest had sounded good at the time, he couldn’t help but think it was too human to be that. Then the conversation about Remus and his mother had also upset him. He had never loved his mother. All of his friends seemed to have good mothers that they loved, and that cared for them in return. Remus had gone home to see his when she was sick. He knew he wouldn’t have done that for his own mother. What was wrong with him? For the first time in his life, he wondered if his relationship with his family was his fault. Clearly he was supposed to love his mother. Maybe if I had just listened when she scolded me, she’d love me, and then I’d love her back. Maybe that was how mothers worked. He couldn’t bear to think that it was his own fault, and even after he had fallen asleep, his mind was uneasy.
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Remus groaned. He opened his eyes slowly, taking in his surroundings. Every part of him ached, and he couldn’t move at all. He breathed in deeply, trying to flex his fingers. He couldn’t. Closing his eyes and trying to keep from crying, he waited, praying that Madam Pomfrey would come quickly. Despite himself, tears leaked out of his eyes, mingling with the still wet blood he could feel on his face. As the minutes passed, the pain became more acute. He heard footsteps and voices, but he couldn’t respond. He cried out as someone tried to lift him up. Water hit his lips, and he finally forced his eyes to open again. The room spun, and he couldn’t make out anything. He looked down and, his eyes focusing, saw his leg, or rather, what was left of it. The bone was hanging out at the knee, and his foot was hanging on by a few strands of skin. He vomited, and then, feeling himself grow dizzy once again, blacked out.
He awoke in the Hospital Wing several hours later. His head still throbbed, but the pain had significantly lessened. He saw Madam Pomfrey at the edge of his bed, bandaging up his leg. She looked up and, seeing he was awake, smiled.
“How are you feeling?”
“Better,” Remus said.
“You’ll be here all weekend, but I’m hoping you’ll be better by Monday. You’ll be limping for a few weeks, but other than that you should be fine. Now, get some rest. I’ll be back in a bit.”
She stood up and left. Remus, exhausted, fell back asleep in a matter of minutes, and wouldn’t wake until that evening.
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The first part of Sirius’ plot involved provoking Snape that very morning. Sirius himself had taken the job of setting the plan in motion, and he walked over to the Slytherin table with a grin already spreading on his face. He walked behind Snape and tapped him on the shoulder.
“Hello,” he said.
“What do you want, Black?”
“You know what I’m here for, Snivellus. I know it was you.”
“What are you talking about?” Snape turned his body completely around and stood up.
“You stole him.”
“Stole who?”
“You know what I’m talking about, Snape. Don’t act stupid. I know you were there last night. I told James not to hide it there, but he didn’t listen to me.”
“Hide what where?” Snape looked eager; Sirius smiled. It was working just as he wanted it to.
“You know very well what I’m talking about,” Sirius bent towards Snape’s ear. “I know you did it. Know how I know? Because you told Evans yesterday you’d been to the fifth corridor. Why would you go there; we don’t have any classes there. The only question I have is how did you find out about it? They’re really rare. You even knew to go there at night. If I didn’t hate you so much, I’d say it was brilliant.”
“I have no idea what you are talking about, Black,” Snape said, but he could hardly control the smile creeping across his face.
“Well, then, you have to the end of the day to figure it out.”
Without another word, Sirius walked away. He sat back down at the Gryffindor table.
“We’ve got him now.”
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It was Peter’s job to complete the next part of the plan. He had been told by some obliging Ravenclaws how to get to the fifth corridor. There was an empty room there that Peter had to get to. Holding a small bunny, Peter opened the door to the unused closet. James had gotten the animal from Hagrid’s pumpkin patch that morning. James had already transfigured the animal to have a horrifying face, and, when it was provoked, it made a terrifying growling sound. It was harmless, but frightening to look at. Peter avoided looking at it as he put it in a bucket on the corner of the room. Covering it with a cloth, he closed the door carefully. If all went well, the rabbit would wake up at Snape’s arrival, attack him, and wake someone up. Peter laughed to himself as he went back to the Gryffindor Common Room.
“Did you do it?” Sirius and James were sitting by the fireplace, anxiously waiting his arrival.
“Yes,” Peter said.
“Did what?” Lily Evans looked up from her book across the room. “What stupid thing are you planning now, Potter?”
“Oh, nothing, Evans,” James grinned winningly at her. “We were talking about his homework. Poor Peter is terribly behind on his Transfiguration.”
Lily rolled her eyes. “As if you cared about school.”
James pretended to be offended. “Ah, now, Evans, that wasn’t very nice of you. I love learning.”
Lily glared at him, but said nothing. Shaking her head, she turned back to her book. Sirius looked at James, who shrugged.
“Maybe we should go upstairs,” Sirius said loudly in Lily’s direction. “So that people who insist upon being hostile to us cannot interfere with our discussion.”
Lily snorted. “Do whatever you want, Black. Just don’t bother me with your rubbish.”
“There you go again with the insults, Evans. Come on, James, Peter, let’s leave the nasty little girl alone.”
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The next morning they were all called to Dumbledore’s office. A scratched up Snape was sitting in a chair, seething, with Slughorn and McGonagall standing behind him. Thought James was still confident, part of him wanted to confess upon seeing Dumbledore. The man had inspired awe in James from the first time he had seen him. James very rarely had any respect for his elders, so this admiration was nothing to look over. Sitting down, he could barely make any eye contact with the headmaster. Luckily, Sirius seemed to be keeping his cool.
Dumbledore didn’t seem overly concerned, though both Slughorn and McGonagall looked upset about what had happened. He looked straight at Snape and began to speak.
“Now, Mr. Snape, could you please tell me what exactly happened?”
Snape glared at the three boys before speaking. “They were hiding something up there, Black told me. He accused me of stealing it, which I didn’t. So, I went there to look for what it was, and it attacked me.”
Dumbledore frowned. “Why didn’t you just tell a teacher, instead of looking for this thing yourself?”
Snape squirmed in his seat. “I just wanted to make sure they weren’t lying to make me look like an idiot.”
Dumbledore nodded. “Now, would one of you like to tell me what happened?” He looked at Sirius, James, and Peter. Sirius spoke up.
“Well, you see headmaster, I thought Snape had stolen my rabbit, Jackson. I was hiding him up there because Peter here is allergic to rabbit fur, and my mother wouldn’t keep it at our house. She says he stinks. And, for some reason, Snape hates me. So, I thought he had stolen it out of spite. It turns out he only ran away after all. I’m just glad he found his way home.”
“I don’t what you think a rabbit is supposed to look like, but that thing was no rabbit. It looked like the devil.” Snape retorted.
“He does not,” Sirius said. “He is adorable. Do you have him, Professor McGonagall?”
Professor McGonagall walked over to the corner of the room and picked up a cage with a cute, tiny bunny in it. It was nibbling at the bars of the cage gently.
“Jackson!” Sirius stood up. “Let me hold him, Professor. I’ll show you how gentle he is. Snape here probably just scared him.”
Sure enough, the rabbit sat in his arms calmly. Snape scowled.
“It didn’t look like that, Professor. They’ve done something to it or…something.”
“Yeah? What proof do you have of that?” Sirius pretended to look upset, but James knew he could barely contain his smile.
Snape didn’t say anything else, but slouched down in his seat. Sirius turned to the headmaster.
“May we go now, Professor Dumbledore? Obviously this was a misunderstanding.”
Dumbledore looked at the boys. James knew he sensed a plot. Sure enough, when Dumbledore spoke, he looked severely at Sirius.
“Now, regardless of whether or not you did anything wrong outright, you provoked Mr. Snape into thinking you did. Something tells me you did this purposefully, so each of you will receive a detention with Professor McGonagall, which she will schedule with you later. Mr. Snape, you were out of bed at night, breaking a very established rule. You will receive three detentions with Professor Slughorn. I will also take fifteen points from Slytherin. Be sure it does not happen again, any of you.”
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“Can you believe he did that?” Sirius wasn’t so much upset about the detention as he was about his act not fooling Dumbledore.
James smiled. “It was worth it, though. He was humiliated.”
“Oh, yeah, that part was executed perfectly. I think we all deserve a pat on the back. Even Peter didn’t mess anything up.”
Even Peter laughed at the joke. “Next time, we’ll have to make sure Remus is there.”
“Speaking of Remus, when do you think he’ll get back?”
“I don’t know,” James said. “Hopefully soon, I want to tell him what happened.”
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When Remus returned Monday, pale and limping, James was instantly worried.
“Bloody hell, Remus, I thought you said your mum was the sick one.”
“I’m fine,” Remus said. “I just fell down the stairs.”
“And they couldn’t fix it?”
“No,” Remus looked down. “I have…well, I heal differently. I don’t know why.”
“Is your whole family just a bunch of sickly people with mysterious illnesses?”
Remus didn’t say anything, and James didn’t press the subject any further. Slughorn went easy on Remus, but when they got to Professor Calhan’s class, James was horrified to see that the man still persisted on being cruel to Remus. His glares and snide comments did not go unnoticed by James, and when they left the class he pulled Remus aside.
“Why is he so mean to you?”
Remus shrugged. “I don’t know.”
James thought for a moment. “I’m glad you’re back, Remus. I wish you’d been there to see Snape’s face. It was hilarious.”
Remus smiled. “I bet it was.”
Hearts of Red and Gold by moonyschick
Chapter Endnotes: Please review, whether you enjoyed it or not. Tell me what you liked, what you didn't, etc. I can't know unless you tell me. : )