A/N: This was one of the first stories I ever wrote so it may not be that good. Also, in the next chapter (there are only 2 chapters, by the way) it may get a bit confusing. If anything confuses you, write a review or message me and I'll try to clear it up. Thanks and I hope you enjoy it. :)
Lunch on Friday was always a bore for Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger as they knew that they would have to face their hated school rivals in a few minutes after lunch. They hoped that Professor Severus Snape wouldn't give any of them detentions that week.
Several minutes later, Professor Snape listed the ingredients on the board with a wave of his wand, and watched everyone mix their ingredients in the cauldron. He was standing behind Neville Longbottom and Harry when Draco Malfoy raised his hand.
"Yes, Draco?" Snape turned away from Neville and Harry to help Malfoy with his question on the potion that they were all making.
Then the next thing everyone heard was the loud boom coming from Neville's cauldron. Harry backed right into Snape, who went face first into Malfoy's potion. Snape emerged from Malfoy's cauldron with an angry face.
"POTTER, DETENTION!"
Harry cringed at the screaming voice of Professor Snape. Harry knew it could be anything from cleaning pickling jars to cleaning the hospital bed pans without magic, as Ron had to do once. The class was dismissed. Harry, Ron, and Hermione headed for dinner. Just as he reached the doors to the Great Hall, Harry decided to walk outside and get some fresh air instead of going in right away.
He hoped to clear out his anger at Professor Snape for giving him detention for backing into him. He went for a jog around the lake. Ron and Hermione knew Harry was not really happy with Snape as he was only trying to get away from the explosion from Neville's cauldron. Harry reached the steps leading into the school when he saw Professor Trelawney standing in the doorway looking at something behind Harry. Harry turned around to look and saw the whole sky looking like someone had cut someone's veins as the sky was blood red, even the clouds were red. Harry had never seen anything like it before, as he watched, the sky turned from a crimson red colour to just a black colour.
"Harry!" Professor Trelawney cried out. "How dreadful. A red sky at dusk, wizards take warning. Something awful comes this way!" Professor Trelawney's eyes just stared away into the night as she whispered. "The juice of a Blood Rose picked at the height of the full moon seen on the day that the sky turned red at dusk would cure…Oh, did I drift off?"
"Yes, you did, Professor Trelawney. But you said 'The juice of a Blood Rose picked at the height of the full moon seen on the day that the sky turned red at dusk would cure…,' then you came out of it," said Harry as he watched as she walked back into the building shaking her head about what she had said. Harry went into the Great Hall to see the same colour of the outside sky on the enchanted ceiling. There were murmurs going around the hall. "Ron, what's wrong with a red sky at dusk?"
"Danger comes. The last time a red sky at dusk came was the night…the night…Merlin's beard…the night your parents were murdered, Harry," whispered Ron looking at Harry. Ron's face was pale as he spoke about it.
"Potter! You will serve detention tonight at midnight with Professor Sprout. I told her that you will help her with whatever she needs done," snapped Professor Snape. Snape then left the hall in a rush.
"Oi! I forgot that I had detention tonight!" moaned Harry as he started to take a sip of pumpkin juice, which for some strange reason tasted like blood as he spat it right onto Draco Malfoy's robes.
Malfoy whipped out a few Muggle curse words at Harry who broke out into giggles right into his face. After Malfoy finished spewing his curses, he asked, "Why didn't you look shocked at those curses, Potter?"
"Because you were calling yourself those words, Malfoy! Those curses are for the person who speaks them and plus I didn't know you liked saying Muggle curse words. I wonder what you father would say about that!" said Harry between his giggles.
"Oh, very funny, Potter!" Malfoy left right after that.
"Good one, Harry. That showed him," said Ron. He looked perplexed about something. "Harry…um…what does f*ck mean?"
Harry bent close to him and whispered it to him. Ron looked very pale after he learned what the word meant. Hermione was blushing as she ate her meal.
Later that night as the full moon rose over Hogwarts, Professor Sprout and Harry walked towards the Forbidden Forest. Professor Sprout needed the Blood Rose which only blooms on the night of a full moon and its petals were the colour of blood. It was very rare and it lived deep in the Forbidden Forest. They staked the torches around the Blood Rose and started to pick the buds itself.
Harry heard a twig snap and stood up, looking into the darkness. "Um…Professor? I think something is out there."
"Of course something is out there. It's just an animal of some kind. We need to hurry up with getting the Blood Rose plucked. The faster we finish the faster we go back to Hogwarts," said Professor Sprout.
Right after she finished, a grey blurry shape appeared out of the Forest and slammed her onto the ground, knocking her out. Harry had already seen him emerging from the Forest and was ready with his wand. The shape lunged at Harry, took hold of his left arm in his mouth, and bit down hard as Harry's scream echoed the Forest. Harry used his wand to chase the creature away. Harry knew he was bitten by a werewolf. Harry went to Professor Sprout and knew she was knocked out. He grabbed her and started to drag her towards Hogwarts, even as he was injured himself. He knew he had to get the knocked out professor back to Hogwarts fast. It was long and hard trying to drag a professor with only one hand. He was also getting weak and tired. He knew where Hagrid's cabin was located at and knew Hagrid would help. He sent a beam of light towards his hut; Harry then passed out.
Harry slowly woke up hoping that he was either safe in Hogwarts or in his bed waking up from a nightmare. He knew by the voices that were around him he was in the hospital wing. He lifted up his left arm to see it bandaged up. He reached with his right hand to his glasses on the table nearby and started to sit up.
"Um, Professor, what happened?" Harry asked, looking at the numerous professors standing in the room.
Professor Sprout was stating about how noble Harry was to drag her from the Forbidden Forest and he was injured too. She saw him awake, went rushing to his side, and gave him a hug.
"I give Harry Potter of Gryffindor house one hundred points for being the bravest young man that I have seen in a long time. We got the Blood Rose, Harry. A lot of it too."
Harry smiled though it was a weak one. "What's the use of the Blood Rose, Professor?"
"Oh, didn't you know? Oh well, it's a brew for a strange cure. I'm not even sure what it would cure really," said Professor Sprout happily. But she hated lying to the young man.
"Oh. How much would those buds produce in juice?" asked Harry.
"Oh, probably two goblets full of juice, Harry ," stated Professor Sprout, smiling big. "Snape's making two just in case he needs more than one goblet of it."
"Good."
"Now, I believe we should let Harry get some rest. Harry, you can rest here or in your own room with the other students tonight," said Madam Pomfrey.
"I'll stay here if you don't mind," requested Harry.
"All right. Let me know if I can give you a Sleeping Potion or a Pain-Free Potion," she said as she walked the professors out of the hospital wing.
Later that morning, Madam Pomfrey saw Harry walking around mumbling something about the attack. "Harry, are you all right? You seem a little upset."
"I'm fine," Harry said in a cold hissing voice.
"Oh, all right. You can join the rest of your house at breakfast now," said Madam Pomfrey as she watched Harry rush from the room. She looked at his sheets to find them nicely pulled from the bed itself and folded up. She waved her wand and sent them to the laundry basket.
Hermione was munching on a piece of toast when the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables started to clap. Hermione turned towards them with an angry look on her face. She noticed that all of them were standing up and soon the entire Gryffindor table was doing the same, even the staff table were starting to clap for someone at the doorway. The whole room was clapping except for the Slytherins, but Professor Snape was clapping politely towards the person at the doorway.
She saw Professor Sprout move away from the staff table and waved her wand as a new chair was brought up from the kitchen.
Was there a new teacher? Hermione wondered. She turned to see Harry standing at the doorway. His left arm was still bandaged up and he walked towards the staff table as Professor Sprout was motioning him to come. She quickly told him that her hero gets to sit with her that morning at breakfast. Professor Dumbledore knew Harry was blushing and smiling all at the same time.
"Students, last night something dreadful happened to Professor Sprout and Harry Potter in the Forbidden Forest. Harry saved Professor's Sprout's life and was injured himself. Harry pulled the injured professor to where he could get help, but after sending a flare, had passed out from the pain and exhaustion. Professor Sprout has awarded Harry and the Gryffindor house one hundred points for bravery," spoke Professor Dumbledore.
"Or for stupidity!" yelled a Slytherin. The rest of the Slytherins started laughing loudly.
"And for that outburst from the Slytherin table, a hundred points deduction from their house," spoke Professor Snape loudly. That immediately shut the table up.
Dumbledore told the rest of the school that this selfless act is what the wizarding community smiles upon and also the school that they all attend. He stated that the new Minister for Magic will be there at the end of the month to award Harry the Bravery Award. Harry smiled weakly when Dumbledore stated that. He wondered, as did a lot of the students, who was the new Minister for Magic.
They quickly started to eat breakfast but Harry noticed that his hunger he felt when he was running towards the Great Hall, was mysteriously gone. He had a different kind of hunger and he knew it was strange.
Professor Sprout noticed that Harry was just picking at his food and asked, "Harry, what's wrong?"
"Oh, nothing, Professor. Just trying to figure out how to do all my assignments for classes today with my arm being injured. Madam Pomfrey wasn't able to fully heal my injury," spoke Harry, knowing he needed to get word of his attack to Remus Lupin and soon.
"Don't worry about it, Harry. I'll see that you will be able to get your assignment notes taken down," said Professor Sprout as she quickly wrote something down on a piece of parchment and a school owl flew to her outstretched arm. She took the letter from the owl and read it. "It's from Professor Lupin. He's anxious to get the potion brewed. We're trying a new potion for a cure for the werewolf curse. It must be brewed carefully to make it work. Severus is fully aware of how important this is and if it does work, then we may cure those poor werewolves of their curse."
"That's good. But what if it doesn't?" asked Harry looking at his injured arm.
"Then it's back to the Wolfsbane Potion for them, I guess," said Sprout. "Why are you asking about it?"
"Oh, just wondering," Harry said, gently and sincerely.
"I forgot that he was a friend of your father's. You did your father well when you saved me. That is the kind of spirit that James had when he was in school," smiled Sprout.
Breakfast was over as Harry went to the Owlery where the owls slept. He found Hedwig and tied a message to her leg for Remus. She looked at him with a wary eye. She even tried to bite him as he tried to finish tying the message to her leg.
"Hey! That's not nice, Hedwig. Go to Professor Lupin. That message is for him. It's urgent!" said Harry as he picked her up and tossed her out the window as she flew off.
The school days went fast for Harry, though he was growing hungry by the time the meals came around. He ate his meals heartily, but the meals were just not filling him up like they should have. He started to eat any leftovers from the others' plates. It was now normal for Harry to eat a lot more food and yet the other students looked awed at him as he put away another plate of food. But what they didn't know was that he would stalk down the corridors to the kitchen where he would stay for at least two hours eating. When the house elves came close to him to give him more food, Harry would growl at them and devour the food that they dropped near him. Harry didn't know what was going on anymore with the growling or the hunger.
Snape started to get suspicious of Harry as he started to walk with a step so silent Harry actually scared him by sneaking up behind him one afternoon in the hallway. He was so scared that he didn't even give Harry a detention or deduct a point from him. Snape started to think about what had happened to Harry in the Forbidden Forest. He rushed to Dumbledore's office quickly.
Dumbledore was already aware of the problem with Harry as he was told about it by Dobby, who was scared Harry was going to do something really, really bad. They knew the only person who may know what happened to Harry was Harry himself and possibly Professor Lupin.
"Fawkes, I need to use you. I have to get word to Remus Lupin about Harry."
"No need, sir," spoke a voice coming from the now open door.
"Remus. How did you know to come here?" asked Dumbledore.
Remus held up a letter. "Harry owled me. He was bitten by a werewolf and now he if going to become one in one night from now. The full moon is tomorrow. If it is true, he will reveal it tomorrow."
"Do you think he is going to become a werewolf, Lupin?" asked Snape.
"Not sure. Not until I look at Harry's injury," said Remus.
"Severus, Harry is in History of Magic. Bring him here," spoke Dumbledore.
Snape nodded and rushed off to get Harry. He opened the door and walked over to Professor Binns, whispering something in his ear. The class was watching them speak in a low tone by the fact that Snape never came into any of the classes for a chat with a teacher unless something was wrong and he needed to speak with one of them.
"All right. You may have him. Harry Potter, gather your bags together and go with Professor Snape," Professor Binns said looking at Harry. Harry quickly placed his books in his bag and walked towards Professor Snape.
Snape turned from Professor Binns and walked out the door with Harry following close behind.
"I don't rarely be a messenger for Professor Dumbledore, but he needs to see you in his office."
"But why?" asked Harry as they neared Dumbledore's office.
"He needs to see you about something," said Snape turning to look at Harry as he started to walk to the gargoyle. Snape spoke, "Lemon drop."
The gargoyle popped open and they headed up the stairs. Harry's ears could hear two voices; Dumbledore and he knew the other's voice along with a decaying smell of robes. It had to be Remus! He started to walk faster and when he entered the room, he went to Remus and hugged him with his right arm.
"Why didn't you owl me back before you came, Remus?" asked Harry.
"Well, Harry , it was your letter that brought me here faster. Now tell me about the attack," said Remus. He knew Harry was what he was as he could see it in his eyes and the way he walked.
Harry told him what happened as Remus nodded and then Remus removed Harry's bandage hiding his wounds. Remus looked up at Harry quickly and turned to Dumbledore.
"This is what I was afraid of. Harry was bitten by a werewolf and the curse of becoming one is his."
They didn't even look surprised by what Remus said. Snape looked even more miserable as he made James Potter's son become a werewolf and he felt responsible for it. Harry was about to speak when his ears heard the sound of retreating footsteps. Quickly he yanked his arm from Remus and raced towards the door to see a silvery, blonde haired boy dart out of sight.
"What is it, Harry?" asked Dumbledore.
"Draco Malfoy! He was here, sir! He must have overheard what I said!" said Harry turning to look at them. "The Daily Prophet will get the story from him and it'll be all wrong information!"
"Harry, why are you saying that about Draco? He wouldn't do a thing like that. That's not like a Hogwarts student to behave," said Dumbledore.
"I know him too well, Professor. He told things to Rita Skeeter who put it in her articles. Everything she wrote was a lie or a warped sense of the truth," said Harry. "I don't want anyone to find out that I'm a…werewolf by the unregistered Animagi b*tch!"
Snape's eyebrow went up in shock. "An unregistered Animagi? Rita Skeeter? Impossible."
"It's true. Hermione caught her in her Animagi form which happened to be a dung beetle," Harry stated in a worried voice.
"When did this happen?" asked Snape.
"Right after the Triwizard events. She was here spying and Malfoy was giving her a lot of information on me, Hermione, and on Hagrid. She didn't care who she hurt only to get a story," said Harry.
"I think the only way to prevent this story from becoming something worse…is get a reporter from the Daily Prophet and a cameraman and get the story out there in a way that would not do any serious harm to anyone," said Snape looking at Harry and Dumbledore.
"I think you are right on this, Severus. I'll send an owl to a friend of mine and see if they would interview both Remus and Harry," said Dumbledore as he quickly wrote down something on a piece of parchment. "And I promise no Quick Quills this time around. I hate those things."
It was no more than two hours later, the reporter was there. He was shocked when he heard who he was to be interviewing, a known werewolf and the Boy Who Lived. He was told that the public needed to know something about werewolves and fast.
That night, Harry was to have his first transformation. They both were silent as they walked to the Shrieking Shack where they both would transform to their werewolf forms. Harry was now a black werewolf with bright green eyes and Remus was a lighter grey looking one. In the Shack itself was the second Marauder, Sirius Black in his Animagus form. He was going to give support to his godson in this time of need.
The day after their transformation was over, Harry wrote a letter requesting the Dursleys to give up custody of him so he could live with his dad's best friends. Harry hoped that the response would be favourable. The letter arrived by Hedwig.
"Vernon writes: 'It's fine with us. We have no problem giving up custody to your dad's friends. Be sure to come here and pick up your things before the start of August or it will all be thrown into the dumpster'. That's what he wrote," said Harry.
"Not a friendly note at all. But I'll be able to get your stuff to my home before that day comes," replied Remus smiling at him. "I still can't believe that you're a werewolf now, Harry."
"I think it's for the best because I did save Professor Sprout's life and we did hope to find a cure for the werewolves of the world…even if it did get smashed," said Harry.
Sirius spoke, "I'll teach Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and whoever remained close to you on how to become an Animagus. They're your best friends and they should be able to be with you during your time as a werewolf, Harry."
"Thanks, Sirius. I appreciate that," said Harry.
Three months later, school was over for that year. Most of the students still feared Harry about his current condition of being a werewolf, but the others accepted him like any other student. They all followed Remus back to his home as they stepped off the train. He smiled.
"We better head for my home now. I am thankful that my family's home in the mountains of Scotland is still mine to own, as not many people who knew my mother's family knew they had a home there. It's the best place to hide an innocent man who was blamed for the deaths of twelve Muggles and one wizard, a hippogriff, and two werewolves."
Two hours later, Harry looked sad as he gazed towards Remus' home. It was the biggest house he had ever seen since the Weasleys took him in for the summer a couple of years back.
Remus noticed the look. "What's wrong, Harry?"
"Oh, nothing. Just trying to figure out if Mr. Padrone would listen to what Sirius and we know and return Sirius' name to what it should be…innocent," said Harry.
"Oh, don't worry, Sam knows and he'll make things right once again," said Remus as he placed his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Don't worry, things will turn out right."