A/N: I wrote this as a drabble for my RP group (over on tumblr - I'll be posting links soon!) and liked it enough to share here. Also, to anyone who follows me or my other stories, uhm sorry for dropping off the face of the earth there. Life happened, let's blame that. But here ya go! Some lovely Marauders brotimes. Enjoy. 3
Remus sat at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, worrying his lip and the hem of his shirt as he watched the sky. He normally saw this kind of behavior as unhealthy, but he couldn't very well help it this month. He'd been under enough stress from school to be able to restrain himself. Plus, this was the first moon that the other Marauders were going to join him.
If he were being honest with himself, Remus would say that he didn't want them to come along with him. If he were being even more honest, he would say that he actually really did want them there, but he was worrying himself sick over it. Remus was worried that they would end up getting hurt, at his hand (or claw, rather), and that he would have no recollection of it or any way to stop himself from doing it. He wasn't him when he was the wolf - he was a wolf, a completely different being. A monster. A monster who was lonely and wanted someone there to help ease his transformation, but who definitely didn't want his friends to get hurt.
Remus sighed as the sun began to sink in earnest. He got up and started to make his way to the path that led to the castle doors. There he would meet Madam Pomfrey and she would escort him down to the Whomping Willow and through to the Shrieking Shack before the moon rose. Now that he was 15 (would be 16 this March even), Remus had started to make mild protests against being escorted every month, but Madam Pomfrey refused his pleas. Remus never pushed it too hard though, because he knew she was just worried about her most frequent ward.
It didn't take him long to reach their rendezvous point, and Remus chose a nice rock to perch on while he waited. He knew she wouldn't be long - they were on a strict time restriction after all, and Madam Pomfrey was even more rigid about it than he was. Lo and behold, he looked up not 5 minutes later to see the school nurse making her way down the path. He stood, and flashed an empty smile at her as she approached.
"Good evening, Madam Pomfrey," he greeted, ever polite. She patted his arm and asked him how he was. He answered in the affirmative, though he was far from that, and she knew it. This was their normal routine, and breaking it now would just be wrong. Remus took the proffered arm as they walked across the grounds, the Whomping Willow already looming ahead.
Once there, Remus let go of Madam Pomfrey's arm as she Immobulus'd the tree. "Ready?" she asked, holding out her arm so Remus could go through the tunnel first. He sighed and nodded, climbing through.
Walking into the Shrieking Shack was never a pleasant experience, no matter how many times he did it. It filled him with cold and dread, all the scratches and bite marks on the walls doing nothing to calm his shot nerves. He was the one who made those marks, and it scared him. "You've got about 15 minutes before the moon rises. I'll be back to tend to your wounds in the morning." Remus could barely make out her words, but nodded as Madam Pomfrey left the room to make her way back to the warmth and comfort of the castle.
He sank down on the bed, not registering the loud squeak that accompanied the movement. His body was weary, as if it could anticipate what was going to happen here very soon, and was dreading it as it had all day, and the week prior. His head dropped to his hands, and as such, he didn't hear his friends' arrival until Peter stepped on a squeaky floorboard. Remus looked up so sharply that he heard his neck crack, and knew that would be hurting tomorrow. "You came," he said, disbelief coloring his tone. They had told him that they would, but seeing them here, in the flesh, was vastly different. It was more real.
"'Course we did, mate," Sirius said, flouncing over to the beaten up couch and making himself comfortable.
"We said we would, didn't we? We don't go back on our word, it's in the Marauder code. You should know that, Moony," James said, coming over to sit on the bed next to Remus. Peter just nodded a lot and smiled at Remus, and he couldn't help but to smile back, even if it was a weak grin. He looked all around at his friends, so thankful for them. He had no idea what he did to deserve them, but he was grateful all the same.
"I know, just...," Remus had no way to put his feelings into words, so he just shrugged and looked down. "Thanks." The single word felt inadequate, but it was as good as he could come up with right then. He looked up at them again, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see the night rapidly falling. He only had a few minutes.
"Okay look the moon's about to rise so either you guys need to transform or get out until I've changed - but don't come back in as humans, that'd be very bad - but I'm not too keen on you seeing the change but if you really want to... You've got to act fast." Remus could see the moon rising and his consciousness was slipping as the wolf prepared to take over. He barely had the sense to pull his shirt over his head before he was a goner. Remus could vaguely hear the other Marauders shuffling around the room - it sounded as if it was coming through a tunnel, as opposed to in the room with him - as his transformation started.
The act of transforming into a werewolf was not a pretty one. He roared, a half-human half-wolf sound ripping from his throat as his bones split and grew, as his muscles stretched, a snout growing on his face and his hands and feet morphing into paws and claws. He grew his tuft of a tail, and his ears moved from the side of his head to the top, and fur sprouted all over his body, a mix of grey and the color of his natural hair. His insides shifted, a transformation that could only be felt and not seen.
While it seemed like hours of pain, the transformation was over rather quickly, and the wolf was left halfstanding in the middle of the room, panting as if he'd just ran a long distance. The stag and the dog stood, watching the wolf warily; the rat was on the arm of the chair, watching its three companions. The wolf finally seemed to get his bearings, and turned its head towards the lone window, to the moon, and howled, instincts ruling its actions. Then it turned, taking in the fact that it had company.
The wolf padded over, and sniffed the dog first - the one that looked most like himself. The dog stood completely still, watching the wolf with eyes that were more than animistic. The wolf growled, and the dog butted it with his head, and the wolf backed off a bit. It didn't expect a reaction.
Moving on to the stag, the wolf sniffed again a bit more wary of this one with its big antlers. It smelled friendly, so the wolf did what it saw as playful, and flicked the stag's nose with his tail as he walked past. He looked at the rat that was on the couch, and licked his lips, seeing the rat as more of a snack than a friend. He advanced towards it, sinking low on his haunches in a prowling stance, when the large stag clopped over and blocked the wolf. Growling, he bared his teeth. The stag didn't back down, and the dog even came over, acting as a double barrier.
The wolf sat back growling and pacing, and he settled for watching his companions for most of the night. Though he didn't realize it then, it was the first night that the wolf didn't spend biting and scratching at itself. It growled on occasion, and made a swipe at the dog when it came too close, but respected their space as long as they respected his. He only resorted to gnawing at a clump of fur on his side when the others fell asleep in the early morning as sleep was something that always evaded the wolf.
It didn't seem to be much longer before the sun was rising and the transformation back into a human was beginning. The bones once again elongated and shortened accordingly, and his insides shifted to where they should be. He growled and roared as the pain ripped through his body, and Remus was left lying on the floor, naked and breathing heavily. He looked around, blinking as the light hurt his eyes, and saw the other Marauders stirring awake as a result of his growls and shouts. He army crawled over to the bed and retrieved one of his spare pairs of boxers and pulled them on before collapsing onto the bed.
"Moony!" he heard them call, but he just waved in their direction before closing his eyes, utterly exhausted.
"You're barely even hurt, Remus! This is a first."
Remus heard the voice, but he could barely register to whom it belonged and what it was talking about. It took some effort, but he finally found the strength to pry open an eye. "Hm?" he hummed his question.
"You've only got one raw spot, on your side. The rest of you is practically fine. What happened last night?" Madam Pomfrey talked as she bustled around his room in the Shrieking Shack, preparing him for the walk back to the castle. Remus shoved himself up and looked down, and saw that she was right - his side was raw and bloody, but it was the only source of injury.
"I don't remember," he said truthfully. It was always really hard for him to remember his time as a wolf, either because he was that good at blocking it out of his memory, or because the difference in mindsets one.
She looked skeptical, but didn't press it too much. "Well come on, let's get you up to the castle then. Do you think you'll be able to go to classes today?"
Remus stood up, his entire body screaming in protest as he pulled on a shirt and trousers. "Maybe. I want to sleep some though, if I can."
Madam Pomfrey nodded and they set on their trek back to Hogwarts.
"Moony!"
"How are you feeling Moons?"
"You tried to eat me!"
"What?" Remus asked, blinking his eyes open and seeing his bed surrounded by the other Marauders. He rubbed his eyes and his temple, sore and disoriented. "What are you talking about, Wormtail? And I'm okay, I guess. Sore." His voice was hoarse, so he cleared his throat.
"You tried to eat me! It's a good thing Sirius and James were there to help make you back off."
"Yeah, Moony, you seemed to be scared of me - guess it's the antlers." James laughed, and held his hands up to his head and pointed like he had his antlers even though he was very much a human right then.
"You growled at me and I headbutted you - I didn't know werewolves could look so surprised," Sirius laughed.
"You tried to eat me," Peter repeated, sinking back in his spot on the bed, looking a bit embarrassed.
Remus looked between his friends, a smile on his face. "I can't remember hardly anything from last night. I'm not hurt though, except one spot on my side, so I figure it was a good night. Though I'm sorry for apparently trying to eat you, Peter," he said, a wry look on his face. He wasn't sure what happened there, but Peter was obviously still intact, so no lasting harm done.
"Yeah, we'd say so too." James looked around at everyone. "Next month will probably be even better."
Remus smiled, and looked down at his pajamas (when did he change into pajamas? he wondered vaguely) and smiled. His friends were the best. And not just because they were his closest friends, which was the normal definition of 'best friends' but because they risked nearly everything for him. They broke the law (unregistered animagi, and underage to boot - who knows how much trouble they would get into if they were found out) and sneaked out of the castle in the dead of night to make their way to Hogsmeade and to the Shrieking Shack to spend time with a werewolf. Not many people would do that. Remus was incredibly lucky.
"Thank you," he said simply, looking back up, interrupting the quiet chatter between the other Marauders that had broken out as he took the moment to himself. "I mean it."
James and Sirius exchanged a knowing glace, then both of them turned and beamed at him. Peter grinned.
"No problem, mate," James said simply, patting Remus's leg in his own reassuring way.
"We're Marauders, Moony - we stick together. Even if one has a badly misbehaving rabbit," Sirius winked at him before reaching over to ruffle Remus's hair as he slung an arm around his shoulders.
"Just try not to eat me next time, that'd be nice," Peter said timidly.
Remus chuckled a bit, and felt his side ache for the first time. Wrinkling his nose, he said, "Sorry about that, Pete. Don't take it personally."
It was then that Madam Pomfrey came over to check up on Remus and shoo the other Marauders out. "He should be fine to join you for lunch, but I think he would appreciate a bit of piece and quiet while he can get it!"
"It's alright Madam Pomfrey," Remus defended. "I feel much better now that I've slept some."
"How's your side?"
"Achy, but that's to be expected."
She nodded, and turned to James, Sirius, and Peter. "Wait for him outside then, while I do a final check up and so he can change."
They left reluctantly, calling out "See you"s and a "There's chocolate pie at lunch even!" from Sirius. Remus smiled as he pulled the curtains around his bed for some privacy and got up, letting Madam Pomfrey give him the all clear so he could go rejoin his friends.