Prologue

It was a gruesome sight, truly it was. The elongation of limbs and body, the sprouting of a tail and snout. Clothing ripped off as the body changed far beyond recognition. The full moon peeked out from behind dull grey clouds, illuminating the scene. Wide eyes, almost as rounded as the moon itself, watched on in horror.

This was her friend, her neighbor; the boy she'd known since she was three-years-old. How could he have kept something like this from her? It was an awfully big secret, that was for sure. It wasn't something that was easily hidden. How had he done it?

A howl pierced the night as the transformation completed. The canine-like nose sniffed at the air, leaning up on hind legs. The tattered remains of clothing were littered around the wolf-like creature. The cloth was all that remained to remind her that this creature, this thing, was her friend Remus Lupin.

She scrambled up from the ground where she'd fallen in her shock, trying to make a quick getaway. However, her movement stirred the air and the werewolf caught scent of her. Still, she hurried on in a vain attempt to outrun the beast that no longer resembled her friend.

The Forbidden Forest had never been kind to her, however. Just as she thought she was gaining ground, she managed to stumble over a root. She fell to the ground just as the werewolf rounded the tree she'd attempted to run behind. She cowered in fear, looking up into eyes that no longer held the sweetness of the boy she knew.

She'd heard stories about werewolves; all the children had. They were human, just like everyone else, who transformed on the full moon of every month. They lost any resemblance to their human counterpart; their mind and body lost to the beast. They would attack anyone, even their best friend; even themselves.

"R-Remus?" Her voice was soft, hesitant, as if speaking to a frightened animal. The creature let out another howl, advancing on her with incredible speed. She closed her eyes and prepared for the worst.

A snarl filled the air and she opened her eyes in shock, finding a scruffy black dog battling the beast. It snarled and barked, backing the creature away from her. She spared the scene a fleeting glance before getting up and running as quickly as she could. She refused to stumble, refused to look back.

The door to her dorm shut with a loud slam as she leaned upon the solid wood wearily. Her heart pounded in her chest and she could feel the tears running down her cheeks. They had warned her, she knew what she was getting into. She just hadn't expected it to be that horrendous.

She slid down the cool oak, sitting still on the floor. Her hands moved to cover her face as the sobs wracked her body, thoroughly shaken by the night's events. She wished she would've listened to James and Sirius when they told her how bad the transformation was. Not just for Remus, but for anyone who happened to be too close.

The image of the werewolf danced behind her eyelids and she tried to convince herself it wasn't Remus. The kind, sweet, brave Gryffindor whom she'd known since she was just learning what life was like outside of her home. The boy who protected her from small things to large things, who helped her study in the evenings, and who she joked around with; there was no way that thing-that monster-could be the same person.

She wiped at her eyes with her sleeve, trying to calm down before she woke up the rest of Gryffindor Tower. Lily Evans was already hurrying out of bed to kneel by her side, looking concerned and asking what had happened. She merely shook her head and asked if she could go to bed.

"Alright…" Lily agreed hesitantly as she helped her friend up. She tucked the traumatized girl into bed and smoothed back her hair, watching as her friend gave a shaky smile. Lily offered a small smile of her own before crawling back into bed. Whatever it was her friend had gone through, Lily wasn't sure she wanted to know.

She had merely been curious of where the Marauders ran off to every full moon. She'd assumed it was some stupid get together where they smoked and drank, but then James and Sirius had let her in on Remus's hairy little problem. She hadn't believed it for a second-she knew Remus and he would never keep anything from her, plus it sounded like a stupid excuse the two would come up with-so she'd followed them out to see what they were really up to.

Her mother had always told her that it was okay to be curious, but that there was a limit to everything. There were some things you shouldn't know, things you aren't supposed to know or witness. Her mother always told her curiosity killed the cat.

Now she was finding out for herself just how true her mother's words had been.

Interested so far? Read the next chapter to follow the events that led up to her discovery.

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