Christmastime at Hogwarts. For the four third-year boys who had the run of Gryffindor Tower, there was no better time in the world. The Marauders had spent the afternoon in a vicious snowball fight. James had recruited Hagrid, which resulted in a nearly immediate defeat for the other three boys. They were now convened in the common room, sipping hot cocoa that Mickey, one of the insanely happy house elves that worked at Hogwarts, had brought up for them.

To no one's surprise, Remus had asked for extra chocolate with his.

Remus Lupin was curled up in one of the overstuffed red couches that surrounded the fireplace in the common room, watching James Potter and Sirius Black, his two best friends, play an increasingly violent game of wizard chess. Peter Pettigrew sat on the floor beside them, cheering excitedly whenever a pawn got whacked off the board.

Peter Pettigrew…

Remus had never really had a good feeling about him. He seemed too ready to switch sides if the power balance changed, too reliant on those with power to protect him. However, James and Sirius tolerated him, so eventually, Remus did too.

Besides, he wasn't exactly in a position to be picky regarding friends.

Remus Lupin was a werewolf. Once a month, on the night of the full moon, he transformed into a bloodthirsty monster. The headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, had taken the precaution of setting up a hideout in the Shrieking Shack for him, so when he transformed, he couldn't get out to bite people.

It was unfortunate but necessary that the wolf then turned on itself.

Remus shifted uncomfortably. Since he woke up, he had been feeling rather ill and achy… exactly how he usually felt like on the day of a full moon. But he had checked and double-checked his lunar calendar. The next full moon was in two weeks-certainly not today.

So why did he feel like it was?

Night had fallen. Soon enough, the moon would be rising. A waxing gibbous moon. Not a full one.

Peter had changed positions. He was now reclining on the window seat, staring out at the starry sky. Remus moved to get a better view of the chessboard when Peter's excited squeal interrupted them.

"Guys! Guys! Look! It's a blue moon!"

Remus froze. That would explain everything. He transformed during a blue moon as well, but since they were so rare, he never really took them into consideration.

Now he regretted it. And if Peter could already tell, then there was no way that he would be able to make it down to the Shrieking Shack on time. He could already feel his bones shifting, and he was in here with his friends…his friends…

They would die if he didn't think of something.

James and Sirius had leapt up at Peter's exclamation and were now gazing out the window, exclaiming at the beauty of the rare sight.

Remus looked around, desperate. He caught sight of the bathroom.

The bathroom…

Not ideal, but it would have to do.

"GUYS!" Remus shouted. "Guys, listen, please, we don't have time!"

It was the fact that Remus never yelled that caught their attention. All three turned towards him, with identical looks of concern on their faces.

"Guys, I need you to-" He broke off for a moment, fighting the inner wolf down.

Just a few minutes, please, just a few more minutes-

James moved towards him, reaching out a hand. Remus stumbled backwards. "Peter, go get McGonagall. This is important! James-Sirius-put as many protective wards as you can on the bathroom door-don't let the wolf-don't let me- DON'T LET ME GET OUT!"

Somehow, James and Sirius knew that this was an emergency. With a squeak, Peter stumbled out of the portrait hole, and Remus listened to his hurried footsteps move down the hallway. Sirius took a step towards him. "Remus…Remmy…what's going on?"

Remus gasped-the wolf had made another lunge to the surface, and it was all he could do to keep it in. "Just…please…I'll tell you when I come back out, I just-please, can you do this without arguing for once? Please!"

James and Sirius looked at each other and nodded. Remus staggered into the bathroom and locked the door. He smiled wryly as he heard the thud-thud-thud of protective charms hitting the door. The grin was wiped from his face as his back arched, and he bit his lip to keep from crying out. Then the wolf leapt out, and he faded away.

A/N: One review. That's all I need to update!