Disclaimer: If I owned this, would I be posting it for free? As always, it belongs to the wonderful JK Rowling.
AN: This is my very first one-shot. Tell me what you think of it!
Dedicated to my best friend Audrie, for looking it over for me :D Thanks!
Hope for the Future
Oo0oO
By Bookwyrm86
James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew followed Madam Pomfrey and Remus Lupin out on to the Hogwarts grounds one evening. Since the three of them had decided to stop poking fun at their fourth roommate after their first year, and actually become friends, they had begun to notice some very odd things about him.
Not only was Remus obsessively bookish, he was also extremely shy. The boys realized that they had never seen him in anything less than pants and a long-sleeved shirt, even when he slept. He did not talk about his personal life, so they didn't know anything about him at all.
They also realized that he was very sickly, and clumsy as well, as he always looked pale, or sore. It was only recently however, that they realized their friend would disappear for a day or two periodically. Once they noticed, they quickly realized that the disappearances occurred on a regular basis, and just so happened to fall on the full moon.
Coincidence? The boys definitely did not think so. Thus, they found themselves following their roommate out onto the grounds on the evening of the full moon, hidden underneath James' invisibility cloak.
"Where do you think they are going?" Peter whispered softly.
"I dunno, the forest?" James suggested.
"No, look. The Whomping Willow," Sirius said, pointing.
Sure enough, the two were stopped just outside the violent tree. They watched as Madam Pomfrey shot a spell at the tree, and were amazed when it immediately stopped moving. The school nurse turned to Remus, and the boys scooted forward to listen.
"It's going to be a rough one, isn't it Remus?" she asked, her voice gentle. Remus nodded slowly, a pained expression on his face.
"Yes, he's angry," the boy said quietly. His voice was shaky, and he looked as though he were going to be sick at any moment.
"I will be here the moment the moon sets, Remus. Oh, take care little one," she said, giving him a hug, then shooing him towards the tree. The three boys watched silently until she left. When she was gone, the all snuck through the passage, as the tree hadn't yet started to move.
They were amazed as the path led them to the Shrieking Shack. That was all the way near Hogsmede! They'd heard stories about this place. It was supposed to be the most haunted building in Britain.
"Let's find out where he is," James whispered, and the other three nodded.
It didn't take them long to locate a locked room. Sirius suggest they leave the building and see if there were any windows, just in case their suspicions proved accurate. After a bit of searching, they found one high up in one corner of the room. The three of them settled themselves on a large tree branch, where they had a pretty good view of the room.
They could see their friend inside. He was putting his wand and his shoes in a box that sat on a rickety old bed. The boys were astonished when he began to remove his clothing as well.
"Why's he got to be naked?" Peter asked, startled.
"I dunno, but whoa," Sirius stopped abruptly. They all now knew why Remus would not undress in front of them. His body was covered with atrocious scars that stood out prominently against his pale skin.
"What happened to him? Look at the one on his side!" James nearly yelped.
"I have a bad feeling about this guys," Peter said, uncertainly. They watched as their friend knelt in the center of the room and tried to breathe deeply. They could see him trembling violently. Sirius glanced at the sky, just as the full moon made its appearance.
Oo0oO
Remus knelt in the middle of the Shrieking Shack, trying not to panic. He could feel the wolf in the back of his mind, and it felt as if his head were going to split open any moment. It was a bloody blue moon, meaning an extra full moon for the year. It happened every few years or so, but Remus officially hated when it did. For some reason, the wolf got more violent and it hurt.
He fidgeted uncomfortably. It would be any second now. His nerves felt like they were on fire. He gritted his teeth, trying to calm himself. Anxiety wasn't going to help, but there was nothing he could really do to stop the fear. Suddenly his body clenched up tightly, causing him to let out an involuntary yelp of pain. The moon was here.
Oo0oO
James, Peter, and Sirius could only watch in horror after their friend's first cry of pain. His body twisted in a rigor of agony, and the screams were horrific.
They watched silently, not daring to breath, as Remus slowly began the torturous change to a wolf. The boys could hear the loud snapping and crunching has his bones snapped and shattered, then rearranged themselves in a wolfish form. His skin split open in horrendous gashes, only to be closed, then ripped open again.
As his form shifted, the screams slowly turned into howls of agony. Finally, after what seemed far to long, a fully formed wolf stood in the middle of the room. His legs were spread apart for balance, his chest heaving, and small whimpers of pain accompanied each breath.
"Oh my god," Peter said, sounding sick. Each of the boys had tears running down their faces, though later, they would never admit it. As they watched the wolf that had once been their friend Remus, they couldn't help but admire the beauty of the wolf despite the pain.
He was large, very large, considering that their friend was rather small. His fur was a golden brown color, tipped with black around his legs and belly. The fur on his face faded to pure white by the time it reached the end of his snout. Amber colored eyes shone brightly beneath the light of the full moon.
They watched as the wolf suddenly lifted his head up, cocking it slightly. "Uh oh, do you think he knows we are here?" Sirius asked apprehensively.
They watched Remus tilt his head back and let out a haunting howl, causing them all to shiver violently. What happened next would stick with them for years to come.
It started out as vicious growling, as the wolf began to prowl around the room. All at once, it seemed as the wolf was desperate to escape and began throwing himself at the walls and door, in an effort to escape. It was amazing that the dilapidated old building held against such a force. The boys winced every time they heard a bone break, but the wolf didn't seem to bothered.
Oo0oO
Anger. Fear. Pain. Hatred. Trapped. Freedom. Run. Fight. Kill. Blood!
This was all that crossed the wolf's mind as he desperately tried to find a way out of his prison. He would win his freedom if it killed him!
Oo0oO
"He's going to kill himself!" Sirius cried out, as the wolf, seemingly dissatisfied with his escape efforts, began to claw and bite and rip at himself.
"Why is he doing that?" James said in a panicky voice. Peter was hiding his face in his hands, unable to watch their friend hurt himself anymore.
"Werewolves have an instinctive need for blood, and if it cannot be satisfied in a hunt, they take it out on themselves," said a sad, gentle voice from behind them. The boys nearly fell out of the tree when they saw Professor Dumbledore standing behind them. There was no sign of his trademark 'twinkly-eyes'.
"Professor, isn't there anything we can do to help him?" James asked desperately, not at all worried that they had been caught out after curfew.
"I fear not, Mr. Potter. He has to be locked up if he wishes to continue attending school. It is too dangerous to the students otherwise. Mr. Lupin wants nothing more than to be able to attend school, and graduate.
"What are the three of you doing out here? It is very dangerous for you to know this particular secret, not to mention that you are awfully close to a transformed werewolf. Do you not fear him?" he asked softly, looking at the three boys intently.
"No! Professor, he is our friend," Sirius exclaimed, looking distressed.
"He can trust us with this!" James replied, nodding with Sirius.
"I can't believe he didn't tell us. We are friends after all," Peter said quietly.
"Mr. Pettigrew, the three of you are the first friends that Remus has had in a very long time. He doesn't trust easily, and for a good reason. You were all raised in wizarding families. You know that stigma that comes along with being a werewolf. I will leave it up to Mr. Lupin to tell you a little about his past, but suffice it to say, he's not had an easy life.
"He was bitten when he was two years old, and since then has only ever heard that he will amount to nothing, and is not worthy to be around other people. I hope the three of you plan to take care in how you approach him about this. He has often expressed his amazement to myself, and Madam Pomfrey, that there are actually people who like him. He fears that you will hate him when you find out, like so many others have."
Dumbledore wince at a particularly pained cry from Remus. The moon was getting close to setting, and the wolf was getting tired.
"Do the three of you think that you can keep this a secret? Can you remain silent, even if you no longer wish to be friends with him? If not, I fear I will have to remove the memories until after you graduate. I am determined to allow him at least seven years of a normal life."
"Professor, he is our friend," James said firmly, looking cross that the headmaster would think so little of them.
"Yes sir, we aren't going to let him down!" Peter exclaimed.
"We would never let something like a, 'furry little problem', come between friends, sir. Remus is our friend. We intend to be here for him," Sirius said firmly.
Dumbledore smile, the twinkle making a reappearance. He glanced at the sky, just as the moon sank below the horizon.
"I do not think that you should watch the change back to human. It is by far worse, and I am sure Remus doesn't want you to see that. Come along. We will go meet Madam Pomfrey at the Whomping Willow."
Madam Pomfrey was quite startled, when as she rushed towards the violent tree, she saw she was not the first there. Already standing there, was the Headmaster and three very pale looking boys. A frown appeared on her face immediately.
"What are you three doing out here?" she scolded, looking furious.
"Poppy, they came to see what was going on with their friend. I believe they have something to say to you," Albus said, a small smile on his face.
"Madam Pomfrey, we don't care if Remus is a werewolf, or a vampire, or a zombie. He is our friend," James said quietly.
"Yeah, and he is always going to be our friend," Peter added.
"Can we help you take care of him? We want to show him that we don't care," Sirius finished. Poppy gave three boys astonished looks.
"This once, I will let you. After that, it is up to Remus if he wants you here. I warn you, it isn't going to be pretty in there. There will be a lot of blood, and your friend isn't going to look good."
"We didn't think he would. Not after how angry he was last night," James said with a shiver. Poppy nodded sharply, then froze the tree. The three boys and the headmaster followed her down the tunnel.
When she unlocked the door with a few spells and opened it, she heard the boys let out groans. Poppy gasped, then rushed over to her patient. Remus did not much resemble a person, but looked as though he'd been crushed by a large herd of hippogriffs.
"Oh my, Remus!" she gasped, kneeling beside him. She glanced up at the Headmaster.
"Will you inform Professor Slughorn that his body is shattered. He will know what potions I need. The boys can help me get him to the hospital wing."
The headmaster nodded and disappeared quickly, heading back to the castle. Poppy looked at the three boys. Despite only being second years, Sirius and James were both bigger than she was. She looked at Sirius,
"Mr. Black, I cannot use magic on him until I get him stabilized. Do you think you can handle carrying him back to the castle? He's small, but still a bit too long for me to carry."
"Yes, of course," Sirius said, looking alarmed.
"Dear, it's going to hurt him," she said softly. "But we have to get him back."
"I'll do it," Sirius said firmly. "Just tell me what I need to do."
"Kneel next to him and hold your arms out. The three of us are going to attempt to get him into your arms with the least amount of movement. He is likely going to get a lot of blood on you. Don't worry, you can't become a werewolf that way. You are also going to hear his bones crunching around. Just focus on getting to the Hospital Wing. If you get tired, James can take over," she said.
Sirius nodded, and with Madam Pomfrey directing them, James and Peter helped get their friend into Sirius's arms. They all winced when he let out a soft whimper at the movement. Once Sirius was on his feet, Poppy covered Remus with a blanket, and directed Peter to get the rest of Remus' things.
Sirius glanced at his friend, who was now in his arms. He could see tears of pain rolling down the werewolf's face. Gritting his teeth, he began to walk as quickly and smoothly as he good towards the hospital wing.
Poppy kept her eyes on Remus the entire time, keep a hold of one of his arms, to monitor his pulse. When they were nearly there, Sirius let out a gasp. His friend had opened his eyes, and was looked right at him.
All Sirius could see was pain, fear, and more pain. Poppy motioned for him to stop. She gently touched her patient's cheek.
"Remus dear, sleep now. We've got you taken care of. Just rest. You will feel better when you wake next," she said in a soothing voice. Remus blinked a few times, staring at her, and James, and Peter too. He gave Sirius another look, then blessedly lost consciousness.
Sirius sighed with relief, and they all hurried back towards the Hospital Wing. Sirius never wanted to see that look on his friend's face again.
Oo0oO
Remus opened his eyes slowly, and was bombarded by intense pain. He nearly choked on his own breath. Taking shallow breaths, he looked around without moving his head. He was in the hospital wing, but this time, he didn't remember getting there. Normally he woke up briefly when Madam Pomfrey came to get him from the Shrieking Shack.
As he looked around, he saw something that made him catch his breath. In the small, curtained off area that he was in, he saw piled up on another bed, James, Peter, and Sirius. They were all fast asleep, in a rather awkward pile.
Astonished, Remus struggled to sit up a bit, but gave up when he felt sharp pains in his arms. Ever watchful, Madam Pomfrey appeared almost immediately at his bedside.
"Thank goodness you are awake. How are you feeling, Remus?" she said, looking profoundly relieved.
"Hurts," he said hoarsely. It was quite difficult to speak.
"I'll bet. Your wolf certainly did a number on you, dear. You've been unconscious for three days already."
Remus looked quite startled at that, and was even more shocked when Dumbledore suddenly appeared through the, his mother at his side.
Rebecca Lupin rushed over to her son, concern on her face. "Oh thank goodness, Remy," she said, profoundly relieved. She gently squeezed his hand.
"Mum?" Remus croaked. It must have been really bad for his mother to have been called. Once again though, his gaze settled on his three sleeping friends. Albus smiled at the young werewolf.
"Not even threats of detention with Mr. Filch, cleaning the Slytherin bathrooms, would get them to leave your side Remus. Sirius even volunteered to let the Slytherins watch the clean toilets with toothbrushes if we let them stay."
Remus felt he eyebrows shoot up at that. Poppy giggled a bit,
"Yes dear, they know your secret now. They followed us out the Willow, and watched. I get the feeling that they saw a little bit more than they wanted to. Sirius is the one that carried you back here. Peter has arranged for extensive notes on the classes you've missed, from the teachers themselves no less. None of them will tell us how he managed that. James has let it be known that you were rather viciously attacked by the Whomping Willow. It is likely that you are going to look hurt still, even when you return to class, so he didn't want anyone to question you on it."
Remus' eyes were quite wide at this. He looked quite amazed, then glanced down at himself, then back at Poppy. He didn't want to try speaking again. It hurt. Poppy sighed,
"Remus, you managed to break nearly every bone in your body this time. You tore up your right knee pretty badly, and I am not entirely sure it will ever be the same again. Your internal organs were practically in pieces as well. Dear, you cannot have another moon like that. I don't think you would survive it. You are going to have try your hardest to make sure that you aren't stressed out or upset about anything the day before and the day of a moon.
"I also want to try filling you up with as much food as you can eat, to see if that helps sate the wolf some. I know you are really nauseous, but you'll have to try. Also, now that your friends know, you won't have to be so stressed about trying to hide it from them. The headmaster has offered to teach you Occlumency, to see if you can magically calm your mind as well. He's never head of another werewolf that has tried it, so maybe it will help.
"Most of all, Remus, you must know that we are all here for you. We are all looking out for you, so you do not need to be alone anymore. You have a variety of people you can turn too."
Remus looked around and saw the caring smiles on the faces of Poppy, his mother, and the headmaster. Then he looked and saw that his friends were awake and watching him cautiously, but they had smiles on their faces. The three boys walked over to their friend, and gently touched him.
"If I wasn't afraid I'd break you, I'd give you hug, Remus," James said, looking at his friend. Sirius grinned suddenly.
"Me too, but then I would smack your head for thinking that we would turn on our friend!"
"Yeah, for something as little as being a werewolf! Surely you know us better than that, Remus!" Peter exclaimed, a gentle smile on his face.
"After all, we will be the only kids in existence who can claim being friends with a werewolf! How cool is that?" Sirius chuckled.
"We know that it is rough on you, but think of all the good you can do, Remus," Peter told him firmly.
"You will be the one to show there world that werewolves are not monsters. That you can perfectly acceptable members of society, if society would just give you a chance," James said.
"You can change the world, and we are going to be right here to help you do it!" Sirius exclaimed enthusiastically.
Remus looked around at his friends, feeling astonished at this speech that was spoken from the heart. His friends weren't normally so sharing with their feelings. He saw Poppy and his mother brush a tear out of their eyes, and Professor Dumbledore was twinkling madly.
Despite being in a lot of pain and exhausted, Remus couldn't help but smile at their enthusiasm. Remus took a small breath, and managed with two words, to sum up everything he was thinking at that moment. "Thank you," he whispered, before drifting back to sleep.
Oo0oO
Two weeks later:
Remus Lupin stood at the top of the Astronomy tower, staring at the sky. Only a sliver of the moon shone in the sky, which was quite a relief to the exhausted werewolf. He shifted uncomfortably, as his leg still hurt him. The climb up had been difficult, but it felt good to be out in the open air.
He leaned slightly on a cane that Madam Pomfrey had given him to help him walk, until he could manage on his own.
He was so grateful that the Marauder's now knew about him being a werewolf. Earlier that day, he'd told them the story of how he was bitten, and what it was like for him to grow up. Though he'd only been two at the time, he remembered it quite clearly.
The story had left the Marauders silent for once, and extremely indignant on his behalf. Remus was glad that they could see the injustice in the way the world worked, not just for him, but for others as well. It would be nice not to have to do things all alone for once. He now had friends to fall back on, and to vent at when necessary. Remus smiled slightly at the thought.
A loud clatter from behind him got his attention. Without turning, he asked,
"How did you three find me?"
"How did you know it was us, and all three of us at that?" Sirius returned. Remus chuckled slightly, turning around.
"It's a wolf thing," he said with a slight smile. James looked at his friends. Remus still looked tired and pale, but much happier.
"Remus, is everything okay?" he asked quietly. Remus looked at his three friends, who each looked a bit concerned about him. He smiled brightly,
"You know James, I think it is. For the first time in a long time, everything is okay."
The other three Marauders grinned, and joined Remus in looking out over the grounds. The moment was perfect. At least, Remus thought so.
"Hey Remus, what other wolf things can you do?" Peter asked suddenly breaking the peaceful silence. Their laughter could easily be heard across the grounds, and the Headmaster looked up from where he was checking on the school's wards.
Yes, those kids would definitely be all right. A great deal of hope could be found in friendships that would last a life time, and those for had definitely found hope for the future.
Fin