Bringing Back Moony
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Remus Lupin stood at the front of a classroom, staring out over his students. He was dressed in a pair of dark brown slacks and matching tweed vest, which were rather shabby in condition. His white dress shirt was frayed at the bottom, though it couldn't be seen on account of it being tucked in. His faded brown tie was tucked neatly under his vest and his entire outfit was cloaked with a set of heavy, tattered, black robes. The man had shaggy, light brown hair, with several strips of grey, and intense icy blue eyes that would lead one to believe he had a soul wracked with mystery and adventure. His face held several thin scars which stretched down towards his neck, some looking recent in nature.
Remus held a large, heavy, leather bound book in his hands and stared out over the classroom full of Gryffindor and Slytherins. He cleared his throat loudly and all eyes turned up to him. Slowly, he pulled open the book and stared down at the page. How to Identify a Werewolf, the page read. The man let out a small, shaky laugh and turned the page. On that page was a photo of a blazing full moon and the caption, When to Identify a Werewolf. Remus narrowed his eyes and grabbed a large chunk of pages, then flipped them angrily. He stared down at the new page and widened his eyes as he read, How to Determine if Your Teacher is a Werewolf.
"What's wrong, werewolf?" came the slightly arrogant voice of Hermione Granger.
Remus jerked his head up towards the girl and stuttered out, "Wh-what did you say?"
Hermione looked around in confusion, then focused back on the man. "I asked what's wrong, Professor," she answered, her eyes locked cold onto his.
"That isn't what you said," Remus snapped, slamming the book closed. He dropped the book heavily onto the desk just in front of Hermione and narrowed his eyes at her. "You tell me what you really said," he demanded.
"That is what she said," Harry piped up, holding his arm protectively in front of Hermione. "Professor, you don't seem so well. Perhaps you should wait until after the full moon to finish the lesson."
Remus took a step away from the shocked students and folded his arms over his chest. "It is the middle of the day, Harry, what are you on about?" he asked, turning his attention towards the window of the classroom.
Where moments ago, the sun had shone brightly into the classroom, now, held darkness. Remus raced over to the window and pressed his hands to the ledge. He leaned out into the night air, baffled as to the sudden change, and stared up towards the moon. The shining orb was in full state and glowing in a bright white. The man gasped loudly and stepped backwards away from the window. "Get out! Now, all of you! Get out!" he shouted, whipping around towards the startled students. "You have to get o..." The man's words faded out into a long, piercing howl and he reached up, clasping his hand firm over his mouth.
There was a flurry of movement as the students shoved and raced to get out of the classroom. Harry didn't move with the crowd towards the door, instead, he raced over to Remus and grabbed onto the man's shoulders. "Professor Lupin, what's wrong? Are you alright?"
"Get out! Harry, you have to get away!" Remus shouted at the boy as he could feel his insides begin to turn. He dropped to his knees and let out a pain-filled scream as his organs began to rearrange themselves and his muscles began to clench. "Get out!" he screamed again, this time with a sobbing edge to his words.
Harry merely stood in silence as Remus fell over onto his side and screamed in pain once more. The sound of cracking bones shot through the still classroom and Remus clawed helplessly at his clothing while it ripped and tore from his body as he began to shift and grow with the transformation. Skin peeled away from the man in blood covered chunks to reveal thick, shabby brown fur. The newly revealed werewolf stood on it's haunches and sniffed at the air with his long snout. A long howl erupted from the creature and knocked Harry to the floor in fear. The movement drew the werewolf's attention and the creature rounded on the young boy, launching itself towards his fallen form. The werewolf stood perched over Harry, now on all fours, his snout just above the boy's face. The creature was growling and saliva was seeping from his open mouth, dripping down onto Harry's terrified face.
"Oh, Moony, really? You're still having these werewolf nightmares?" came a new voice.
The werewolf forgot of his fallen victim in favor of staring up at the new, unafraid approaching figure. A young boy, about seventeen from the looks of it, wearing a Gryffindor school uniform, strolled up carelessly to the desk nearest the werewolf and leaned back against it. Upon closer viewing, the boy could be seen to have wavy, black hair, falling down around his strong face, reaching just above his shoulders. He had smokey grey eyes and the kind of stare that could leave you feeling as though he were looking into your very thoughts. He was shorter in stature, though the elegant, and slightly arrogant, way he moved more than made up for this so-called-flaw. The werewolf snorted at seeing the boy and let out a deep growl, bearing his teeth threateningly, but the boy merely let out a laugh in response, albeit, it sounded more like barking.
"You've been a werewolf for over twenty-five years now, Remus Lupin. Aren't you getting tired of the same old nightmares?" the boy asked, flicking his hair casually away from his face as he stared straight into the eyes of the snarling werewolf. "Have you considered clowns? I hear that clowns are quite popular nightmare topics. I'm not asking you to stop this cold turkey, just one step at a time. Perhaps a werewolf clown." He lifted his hand and snapped his fingers, playfully, then smiled brightly as a large, red foam rubber nose appeared on the tip of the werewolf's snout. "There."
With a loud snarl, the werewolf batted his claw at his face and ripped the nose away, then snapped his teeth and tore the offensive object to shreds within a moment. The creature breathed heavily as it stared back towards the arrogant young boy and growled so loudly, Harry let out a yelp beneath it.
The young boy rolled his eyes at hearing Harry, then looked back up at the werewolf. "You're eating Harry? Honestly, if you're gonna chow down on someone it should be that yakkity brat Granger. Let him go already before the lad goes in his knickers." Upon receiving another snarl in reply, the boy groaned loudly and turned towards the door. "Lose the wolf suit, Moony, we have business to attend to," he snapped, his voice very authoritative as he neared the door to the classroom.
The werewolf snapped to attention and tilted his head, then glanced down at his chest, where a large and comical zipper pull was now jutting out. The creature batted at the pull with his paw until it became loose and the outer covering of the werewolf fell into a heap over Harry's trembling body. Remus Lupin shook his head in surprise, his feet still firm in the werewolf suit feet, then looked over himself and smiled at seeing his body exactly as it was before the transformation, suit and all. "Sirius?" he called out, pulling his feet from the suit and rushing after the boy.
"Don't say Sirius with that questioning tone," the boy hissed, turning his attention back to the approaching man. "You act like you aren't sure."
"Of course, I'm sure!" Remus cried out, slightly offended at the accusation. "I'm just surprised is all. Last time I saw you was...well was on the front of a wanted poster and let me tell you something, prison does not agree with you."
"Well get to that later," Sirius said, holding up his hand to silence the man. "Just talk to me, the me you see now, the seventeen year old me. Don't think about those pictures, don't think about those newspaper articles or anything that you've been told the last twelve years, just talk to the seventeen year old Sirius Black. Can you do that, Moony?"
Remus nodded silently and followed behind Sirius as he waved his hand at him. The two stepped out into the hallway from the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, though the hallway was quite different from its usual stone and portrait covering. The walls and floor were made entirely of parchment and the outlines to the rooms were drawn in heavy black ink. Remus was staring around in awe when Sirius thrust into his hands a board, about the size of four text books lined end to end, with the words Remus Lupin written upon it.
"What is this?" Remus asked, staring down at his label. When he received no answer, he looked up at Sirius, only to find that the boy was holding an identical board with the words Sirius Black written upon it.
"These are our name tags, Moony. Can't you tell? Everyone in Hogwarts has to be labeled. That's the way we made the map. You cast this charm yourself, you should know." Sirius rolled his eyes and shifted his label to rest under one arm, then tucked his free hand into his pocket.
"You mean we're on...the Marauder's Map?" Remus asked, his eyes narrowing in confusion.
Sirius nodded and licked over his lips, a very superior look etched on his face, then tilted his head in indication for Remus to follow him. The two walked down the parchment and ink hallway in silence until they reached the basements, near the kitchen.
"Watch out!" Sirius shouted as he grabbed Remus by the arm so suddenly, the man dropped his label board onto his foot.
"Ow!" Remus cried out as the board landed sharply on the ends of his toes. "That bloody hurt, Sirius," he said.
Sirius waved his hand at the man and pointed towards an oncoming label. The label was seemingly moving across the floor on its own, no one around to carry it. It rushed past Remus and Sirius so quickly, they almost didn't make out the words Peter Pettigrew on the front of the label.
"Is this some kind of sick joke?" Remus yelled, his eyes locked onto Peter's label as it turned and disappeared into the kitchen. "What was that? It wasn't Peter, you killed Peter," he growled, turning on Sirius.
"Hey, you said you could do it. I'm Sirius Black as a seventeen year old Hogwarts student, Peter hasn't been attacked at all yet, not to me." Sirius pointed his finger into Remus' face and frowned when the man swatted his hand away.
"So you're telling me that was the seventeen year old Peter?" Remus asked, his eyes narrowing into slits.
Sirius shrugged and tilted his head carelessly. "Don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know!" Remus shouted. "You're the one orchestrating this whole map...thing, you should know what's going on!"
"I haven't orchestrated anything!" Sirius yelled back. "This is your head, Moony, not mine."
Remus turned sharply on his heel and started marching away from Sirius, his feet pounding hard against the parchment beneath him and wrinkling it deeply, even tearing it slightly in some places.
Sirius picked up Remus' forsaken name label and chased after him, struggling under the weight of both boards. "Moony, you forgot your name tag. You aren't allowed to go anywhere without it. You know that!" He followed right on Remus' heels as the man made turn after turn, walked over several staircases and eventually stepped out onto the grounds of Hogwarts.
The moment that the two stepped out of the school, their feet moved from dry, yellowed parchment and landed instead on the real, grass covered, sun drenched lawn of the school. Sirius dropped the name tag boards with a loud and exhausted sigh, then grinned up at Remus. "Guess we don't need those anymore, huh, Moony," the said with a relieved laugh.
"Stop following me, Sirius," Remus growled. "And stop calling me Moony. That name died the same day James and Lily did." He turned his head towards Sirius and curled his lips in a very canine snarl, then charged away from him, heading towards the Black Lake.
"How old are you, Mister Lupin?" Sirius asked, not holding back the sarcasm in the slightest as he curled his hands into fists and pushed them into his hips. "Forty-five? Fifty? Sixty?" he went on to say, pursing his lips and raising his eyebrows in a clear attempt at annoying Remus.
Remus spun around and pointed angrily at Sirius. "I'm thirty-three, you little brat. Don't you pop that attitude with me."
Sirius gaped at the man and let out a hysterical laugh that left him clutching at his sides and gasping for air. "Don't you pop that attitude," he said, mocking the tone of Remus' voice. "Do you hear yourself? You sound like an old man, Remus! You'll never understand if you stay this way, you have to be seventeen again, like me." He wiped at the bottom of his eyes, ridding them from the laughter induced tears, and shook his head at Remus. "Come on, get to it."
"Get to what, Sirius?" Remus hissed.
"Being seventeen. Come on, we don't have a lot of time and honestly, I don't wanna spend time with you if you're gonna be a stuffy old man." Sirius tilted his head and gave a small shrug, then started off towards the willow tree next to the lake, his hands stuffed deep in his pockets. "Tick, tock, Mister Lupin, times-a-wastin'."
"I can't just be seventeen, Sirius," Remus argued as he raced ahead to fall into step with the boy.
Sirius snorted and stopped in his tracks, then turned towards Remus with a look of sheer amusement. "You can't be seventeen? You also can't unzip a werewolf suit and follow your old friend around the school on a bappit of parchment, but you have yet to argue with either." He snapped his fingers at Remus and rolled onto his heels. "Come on, I won't say another word to this old man, get on with it. Seventeen."
Remus stamped his foot and glared across at Sirius. "I can't just become seventeen. It isn't possible."
"You did not just actually stamp your foot at me," Sirius laughed out, shaking his head. He let out a long, amused sigh and licked his lips. "Come on, quit messing around and be seventeen."
"Didn't you hear me? I can't just be seventeen, Padfoot!" Remus shouted.
No sooner than the word Padfoot slipped past Remus' lips, his body gave a violent twitch and his shabby brown suit and robes dropped to ground, leaving him dressed in a Hogwarts school uniform, boasting a crimson and gold stripped tie. His waist thinned and he shrunk down several inches. His shaggy brown hair grew thicker and the strips of grey vanished from sight. His face softened and the deep wrinkles of worry smoothed out, the scars vanished. Remus didn't just look younger though, he felt younger. His entire body felt lighter and the energy coursing through him was enough to make the man, uh boy, let out a victorious hoot.
"You did it, Moony!" Sirius cried out, bouncing slightly with his words. "I knew you could. This is great! Alright, come on, we really don't have a lot of time." He grabbed onto the arm of the now-seventeen Remus and dragged him towards the willow tree by the lake. "Sit down, right here like you always did." He pushed the boy down and forced him to lean against the tree.
"What are you doing?" Remus asked, laughing quietly at Sirius' enthusiasm.
Sirius stepped back and twisted his lips in thought as he looked over Remus. "Not quite right," he muttered to himself. "Ah, I know." His eyes lit up and he snapped his fingers.
A heavy book fell into Remus' lap, making the boy let out an oomph. "What is this for?" he asked, flipping through the blank pages of the book.
"It's just to set the scene, don't mess with it, just hold it." Sirius made a turned in a few slow circles, then sat down on the ground next to Remus. "Okay, one last thing and we'll be ready." He snapped his fingers again and two figures popped up sitting before them.
You could call them mannequins, for the sake of a definition, but these were so real Remus was sure that they were going to turn and speak. The two figures of seventeen year old James Potter and Peter Pettigrew sat still on the ground. James was smiling so big his full set of teeth were showing, his glasses were perched on the end off his nose, the way he sometimes did to achieve a look of nonchalance. One hand was extended in the air, fingers open, just about to close over a small golden snitch only a bit away from the palm of his hand. Peter was sitting cross-legged, his eyes glued to the golden snitch. His sandy blonde hair was mussed just right so that it reflected James' style. His hands were folded in his lap and a smile was etched on his still features.
The longer Remus stared at the mannequins, the creepier they were to him. He gave a small shudder and turned back to Sirius, who was digging in his pocket. "What is going on, Pads? What is all of this about?"
Sirius pulled out his wand and smiled over at Remus. He held up his wand and pointed it right at the James mannequin's head. "Now that you're seventeen again, I have a question," he said, his voice teetering on the line between giddy and frightening. "Do you think I could kill him?"
"What?" Remus cried out, his eye growing wide.
"I asked you if you think I could kill James." Sirius gave a small nod to accent his words, then wiggled his wand a bit as he kept it pointed towards James. "James Potter and Sirius Black. Like brothers we were," he mused as he lowered his wand and brought his knees up in front of him. "We were inseparable from the moment we met." He laid his arms carelessly over his knees and stared at James, nostalgia reflecting in his eyes. "Our longest fight was what...three days?"
"Four," Remus answered in a tentative whisper.
"Four days!" Sirius cried out with exaggeration. "Longest fight was four days. When I moved out of my parent's house, where did I go?" he asked, glancing over at Remus. "To the Potters'," he continued, not bothering to let Remus speak. "They were the family I always dreamed of. Loved me like I was their own son. Their own son, do you hear that, Remus? They loved me, loved me like I was their own flesh and blood. James' mother treated me as though she had given me life herself. His father..." At this point, Sirius had to stop speaking from getting so choked up on his own words.
"I know, Sirius. I was there. You and James were closer than brothers, I know how much his parents loved you. Please...don't cry like that," Remus whispered, forcing himself to look away from Sirius' tear streaked face.
"You look at me, Remus Lupin!" Sirius yelled, grabbing onto the boy's shoulder and forcing him to turn back. "Now you answer my question. You look into my eyes and you tell me that you think I could have gone to Voldemort and turned over my best friend, my brother, and his wife and his infant son to be murdered! You say it if you believe it!"
Remus stared hard into the watery grey of Sirius' eyes and wiped the tears from his own with the back of his hand. "I c...I c-can't," he stuttered, his entire body trembling.
"Then why would you just accept it when you were told? Why did you just...believe it all?" Sirius asked, dragging the sleeve of his jumper across his runny nose.
"You were their secret keeper, Sirius!" Remus shouted, jumping to his feet and throwing the blank paged book back down at the sobbing boy. "You can sit there and try to play on my emotions all you want, but you were their secret keeper, so only you could have told their location. Then you hunted down Peter and murdered him yourself!" The seventeen year old boy began to age with every word he spoke until he once again the thirty-three year old aged Professor in a shabby brown suit. "Was I next?" he asked, his gaze cold.
"Lupin." A new voice, cold and daunting, cut into the scene and Remus went rigid with familiarity. "Lupin," the voice came again, this time followed by a figure. Severus Snape grabbed Remus' shoulder roughly from behind and shook him so hard he almost lost his balance. "Wake up, you daft man, this is a teacher's lounge, not a bedroom."
Remus' eyes snapped open and he bolted to sit upright in his seat. He reached up and rubbed roughly at this eyes in an attempt to rid them from the sleep induced haze. He blinked rapidly and glanced about him, taking in the cold, sterile environment that was the teacher's lounge of Hogwarts. "What?" he muttered, incoherently.
"You fell asleep," Snape sneered, looking down on Remus, his features twisted in sheer disgust. "Here's your potion." He sat a corked vial down onto the table next to Remus' half graded essays and whipped his stark black robes around, dramatically. "You don't belong here," the man hissed before turning on his heel and bashing from the room.
"I was just thinking the same thing about you, Snivellus," Remus muttered under his breath as he picked up the potion and leaned back against his chair.
A Note From the Author: Thank you for reading and please review. :D -Jenna