It was October 1976, one month after the start of the Marauder's 7th year. Professors were piling on homework to get the students ready for NEWTs, the first quidditch matches were on the horizon, and with the unspoken confirmation that a war was brewing, everyone was on edge.
One student in particular, Remus Lupin, seemed extra distressed. The harvest moon about to take place in just 24 hours, and with the moon brighter and closer in the sky, Remus was feeling it's pull stronger than usual. The Marauders knew it was that time of the month and let Remus sleep as long as possible in order to build his strength to take on the moon coming tomorrow night.
When Remus woke up, he felt unrested and grumpy, noticing his senses were heightened to an alarming degree. He's dealt with the harvest moon before, but for some reason, it felt this harvest moon was affecting him more than before. His skin felt hot, almost feverish. He wanted meat.
He walked into the Great Hall and sat down heavily at the Gryffindor table, rubbing the back of his neck and closing his eyes. It was Saturday morning, and James and Sirius has their heads together studying the quidditch playbook before their match against Ravenclaw in one hour. Peter was pouring over his Charms books, trying to prepare for their exam on Monday.
"Alright there, Moony?" Asked Sirius, pushing back his chin-length dark hair out of his eyes. Remus opened his eyes and caught Sirius' steel-gray gaze.
The Marauders have been through enough full moons together that they could tell when Remus wasn't feeling all like himself. Though, Sirius seemed to make more of a subconscious effort to make sure he was taken care of. Taking notes on the days he missed classes - being the first to pipe up with an excuse when his fellow classmates asked where Remus was, hexing the Slytherins when they made fun of his scars. The group never mentioned it; that's just how it's always been.
"M'fine," Remus responded curtly. He felt a dull pull at the bottom of his stomach and looked away, piling his plate full of sausage and bacon, digging in hungrily. The meat tasted so good, but not as good as-.
Remus tried not to think about that. Anything but that. He knew he was feeling out of sorts, that personality traits of the wolf could come out at any moment. The wolf wanted to hunt, to rip into actual flesh and taste the blood and meat of his kill...
James and Sirius glanced at each other. They've been through the harvest moon during their fourth year and saw how it affected Remus. He was so aggravated by the moon that he punched Lucius Malfoy during Potions for adding lacewing flies instead of dragonfly thorax. That night was painful for James, Sirius, and Peter as they watched helplessly; Remus was in the hospital for days after that night.
"Are you planning on coming to the quidditch match today, then?" Asked James. Remus glances up from his plate.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be? It's the first match of the year.."
James lowered his voice and raised his eyebrows, "The you-know-what that's you-know-when that makes you feel all...you know..."
Remus stopped eating. He looked at James then Sirius, who both wore tentative expressions. He could feel his anger bubbling up inside. Just because it's the harvest moon, doesn't mean his friends should be acting like he's about the transform in the middle of the Great Hall.
Remus swallowed his food, trying to pick the right words and keep his emotions in check. Remus hated feeling like this. "You don't have to treat today or tomorrow any differently. I know what I'm doing. I can handle it."
James put up his hands. "Not saying you can't, mate, just worried is all. You don't look that great."
"Gee, thanks, Prongs," growled Remus, rolling his eyes as he picked up his fork again. "I'll be there. I have to stop at the library to drop off a few of these Transfiguration books I grabbed for our report, but then I'll head down with Peter."
James clasped his hands together and smiled. "Fantastic! If we win, Frank said he'll turn a blind eye to a party in the common room, so we better start thinking about sneaking drinks and snacks from the kitchens. Anyway, I should go find Lils before I head down to the pitch." With that, James grabbed his broom, messing up his hair and he shuffled down to the other end of the table to speak to Lily and her friends, Marlene and Dorcas, before the game.
Remus gave a small smile. A party is just what everyone needs right now to distract them from classes and the verge of war that's been talked about in The Daily Prophet.
The wolf inside suddenly perked up, looking forward to being outside, to the large number of warm bodies huddled close together with their blood pumping in anticipation as they watch the match...
Remus shook his head violently to shake out the murderous thoughts and cleared his throat.
"Pads, when are you headed to the pitch?" He Asked Sirius.
"Soon. James said he had a big speech prepared, so I want to make sure I'm there for "moral support", but I just want to see if he's going to yak from nerves. You'll be in the stands? Usual spot, yeah?"
"Yeah, usual spot. Good luck, mate. Be sure to beat those...bats... at the bludgers, not harming Ravenclaw too terribly..." Remus gave a sheepish grin and looked away. He loved to support his friends, but he knew next to nothing about quidditch. Sirius let out a bark of a laugh.
"Maybe we should keep the speeches to Prongs, eh? But, cheers!" Sirius looked past Remus. "Looks like the team is headed out." He stood up and clapped Remus and Peter on the shoulder. "See you lads after the match!" With that, Sirius raced towards his teammates, throwing his arms over their shoulders as they walked out of the Great Hall.
Remus felt the weight of Sirius' hand on his shoulder long after he left, and he tried not to focus on the lingering feeling. He finished his last bite of breakfast and turned to Peter. "Come on, Wormtail, we should head to the library now so we don't lose our seats to some squirmy first years."
Peter quickly drank the rest of his pumpkin juice and got up from the table, stumbling to get his legs out from the bench, running after Remus. "Coming! Coming! I hope Madame Pince was able to get that book about the 18th century goblin wars. Apparently, magic historians just discovered a whole new set of goblin-made silver..."
Remus quickly stopped paying attention to Peter. He was a good guy as far as anyone could tell, and a great scapegoat when it came to playing pranks, but Merlin, could he be boring sometimes. Remus has other things on his mind today besides listening to Peter prattle on about how engrossing History of Magic essays are going to be this year.
He let his mind wander, still thinking about Sirius' hand on his shoulder at breakfast. Why was he thinking about Sirius' hand on his shoulder? It's not like they haven't touched shoulders before, so why did this feel different? Remus just chalked it up to the harvest moon heightening his senses, feeling Sirius' energy for the quidditch match. He cracked his neck as he walked and ran a hand through his hair. He really hated feeling everything during this time of the month.
"...Remus? REMUS!"
Remus stopped walking and looked around.
"You walked straight passed the library, Moony!" Said Peter, a few yards back. "You must have really been spacing. You okay?"
Remus backtracked and pushed open the double doors to the library. "I'd feel better if everyone would stop asking me how I was the whole bloody day," he cursed through his teeth. Peter squeaked and turned red. "Right. Got it..."
Remus quickly dropped off his books and turned to walk quickly towards the quidditch pitch. By the time they reached the stands, the teams were already in starting formation and Madame Hooch was about to throw up the quaffle. Remus spotted Sirius and James. The weather was cloudy, perfect for quidditch, but dark clouds were on the horizon. Remus hoped the game would end before the rain came.
Remus and Peter quickly hurried up the steps and saw some runty first years in their usual spot in front of Lily and Marlene. Remus immediately flushed.
"Oy, these aren't your seats. Scram!" He forcefully picked up the first years by the arms and pushed them out of the seats. They screamed in protest and rubbed their arms. Remus didn't want to deal with their whining, he just wanted to watch his friends play the game. He made a move to shove them out of the way roughly but heard a stern voice behind him.
"Remus, what are you doing?! You can't just shove people from their seats when they got there first! Honestly, there are other seats down the bench!" Exclaimed Lily. Remus saw out of the corner of his eye Peter gesturing wildly to make Lily stop talking. Remus turned around to face her.
"Lils, are you joking? These are our seats. Ours! We've been sitting here for years, they can't just waltz in here and...sit down...because they got here first. We have seniority. The Marauders. Ours." He knew he was sounding territorial and slightly mad. Over some quidditch seats?
Lily looked at him questionably then turned to Peter. Remus rolled his eyes and turned his back to Lily and towards the game. He's pretty sure he heard Wormtail murmur to her something about the full moon and to excuse his actions, but he chose to ignore it. He knows he was acting out of line, but ugh, it felt good to just not care for once.
The quidditch match ended with Gryffindor winning 370-120. It was exhilarating; Remus loved watching his friends play quidditch even if he didn't follow the rules of the game. He would cheer when Sirius blocked a bludger or when James scored a goal. He held his breath when Ivan Wood shot toward the snitch or when Ravenclaw had possession of the quaffle. Once the game ended, he spotted Sirius and James cheering and laughing on the field.
Peter, Remus, and Lily started to made their way down from the bleachers and began to walk towards the locker rooms, waiting for James and Sirius. The wind started to pick up, and Remus' heightened senses caught the scent of something specific, the same scent he caught at breakfast, but now it was stronger. It was almost desirable. It was woodsy, almost like cedar with a mixture of citrus. It enticed Remus. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply and let the scent overwhelm him. It was coming from the locker rooms. He opened his eyes and stared.
He wanted, no, needed, to know what that scent was. Remus cracked his neck and made his way to start walking towards the room when someone grabbed his arm.
"Remus, you can't go in there," said Lily sternly. She stared at him with that specific look in her eye. She knew what happening. She's read the books and witnessed his actions before each full moon. She, in true Gryffindor spirit, wasn't afraid to put him (or more accurately, the wolf) in his place. Remus stared angrily back, trying to come to grips with these strong feelings. He had a scent. He had to track it. He had to know who it belongs to.
But, deep down, Remus knew she was right. What was he thinking? He closed his eyes and grimaced, trying to push down the wolf's instincts. Lily's hand was still clenched hard in his arm like it was there to bring him back to reality.
Remus groaned loudly and ripped her hand away from his arm, turning his body away from the locker rooms. "I'm going back to the castle. Don't follow me. I'll see you guys for dinner." With that, Remus shoves his hands in his pockets and started towards the castle, walking quickly. Lily and Peter watched him, mouths agape.
Lily broke the silence. "Peter, I know tomorrow's the full moon, but I don't ever remember Remus acting this way."
"Tomorrow's a /harvest/ moon," he specified quietly. "Apparently, the moon is affecting him more intensely since it's closer, brighter and fuller. We were with him during a harvest moon a few years ago; it was terrible. He was moody, sure, but this... this is new," squeaked Peter.
They didn't get a chance to finish their conversation as James and Sirius emerged, brooms in hand, looking sweaty and elated. Lily scrunched up her face playfully as James swooped in and gave her a big hug. Sirius pulled his hair away from his face, looking around.
"Pete, where's Moony? I thought he was coming to the match?"
"He was here, but just left," said Peter. "Started walking back up to the castle not a moment ago. He's in a foul state, doesn't want to be bothered."
Lily turned to face the group, looking concerned. "Foul state is right," she said. "He physically shoved a bunch of first years from the bleachers, practically screaming that they were in his seats. Usually he's just achy and exhausted, maybe a bit short, but never aggressive. It's almost like a new person took his place."
James and Sirius looked at each other. "We'll keep and eye out on him," said Sirius confidently. "If he gets out of hand, we'll convince him to go to the hospital wing. Maybe Pomphrey can give him something to calm his nerves before tomorrow."
"Yeah, we'll leave him be for a few hours," James piped in. "Besides, we have a party to plan!" He started cheering. "Wormtail, you'll be able to sneak into the kitchens and grab the snacks, right?"
James and Peter continued to plan the party while Sirius walked in silence. He knew Moony suffered, and he knew how bad it was in fourth year. But, he also trusted Remus. He'll come to them if there's a real problem...right? Sirius felt a nudge, breaking him from his train of thought.
"Sickle for your thoughts?" Asked Lily. She was fully aware of how close Sirius and Remus were, even if they and everyone else were too daft to see it. They just worked perfectly together, it was almost effortless. She wouldn't be surprised if they developed something more than just friendship and brotherhood between them.
Sirius smiled. He could always count on Lily to be watching. It took him a while to open up to her after she and James started seeing each other, but she's proven herself trustworthy with Moony's "furry little problem". She gave him advice about any and all issues - at least the ones he cares to share, anyway.
"Just wondering about Remus. He's pretty open about how he's feeling, but it's not like him to be, as you say, aggressive." Sirius exhaled loudly, not realizing he was holding his breath. "But, he's a big boy and can figure it out."
Quickly changing the subject, Sirius asked, "Lils, where's Marlene? I have to make sure she saw that awesome deflection against Bones." He gave a cheeky grin.
Sirius and Marlene have been dating on and off for about a year. Always fun, always casual, never serious. They see other people, but always find their way back to each other. Marlene could be compared to the female version of Sirius- lover of quidditch, flirting, and living fast.
The group reached the castle and made their way to the common room to shower and finish planning their victory party.
