Disclaimer:
All characters belong to J.K. Rowling
"I
wonder what we should do today…"
"Been
there, done that…"
"But
I haven't suggested anything yet."
"So?
You told me only yesterday that you've run out of good ideas…"
"Good
point."
James
and Sirius were sitting under one of the biggest trees in the grounds of
Hogwarts. Sirius was busy plucking the grass out of the ground, and making
small, multiple piles out of it, and James was just lying back with one arm
behind his head, supporting it, and the other resting across his stomach.
Sirius leant over and discreetly put a longer, thinner piece of grass in James'
hand. James mechanically moved it to his mouth and started chewing on it. He
liked chewing on stuff. His friends teased him endlessly about it, but that
didn't stop him from doing it.
"Hey,
Sirius?"
"Yea?"
"What
do you want to do?"
"I
dunno…I'm worried, James."
"Howcome?"
"This
is the first time I've been without an idea…"
James
nodded, but didn't speak, and there was a restful sort of quiet for a few
minutes.
"Let's
go bug Lily." James blurted, trying to hide the blush spreading over his face
as Sirius stared at him incredulously.
"James.
If you carry on with your obsession with Miss Evans, I'd start to think you
like her. And we can't have that, can we."
"No."
mumbled James. "We can't. But Sirius, I-"
"Shut
up, James."
There
was a rare tone of darkness in Sirius' voice, and James wisely shut up.
"So…"
"So?"
"So…What
should we do today?"
James
grinned, and then sat up. "Let's go play some Quidditch!"
Sirius
grinned back. "I'll only play, if you admit, once and for all, that the Wasps
are the best team."
"Sirius,
I'm more likely to fall off my broom."
Sirius
growled as James got up and sped across the grounds, laughing maniacally, as
Sirius just stared after him in a stunned silence.
"No,
Peter! That's not the way!"
"I'm sorry Professor. It's just so hard, and I-"
"You
can't do it. Yes, I know. You are dismissed, Mr Pettigrew."
Peter
fairly fled from the classroom, seeking refuge with his friends, who were no
where to be found.
"Hey,
Lily?"
"Yea
Peter?"
"Have
you seen-" Peter almost said James, but then switched to "Remus anywhere?"
"Remus?
No, sorry. You might try in the dorm though, I think Sirius and him are
up there."
Peter
smiled his thanks. "Roger that."
Lily
smiled back, and went back to her essay.
Peter
climbed up the stairs to the 5th year boys dorm, pushing the door
open slowly.
Remus
was lying on his bed, uncovered by blankets, and sweating dreadfully. He was
mumbling, and whimpering, calling for someone, and then shrinking back and
away. Peter sighed. Not again.
Taking
his wand out from his pocket, he performed the only real good spell he could do
– perfected by the many times it was used. Muttering some words, a
silverish-white shape bolted through the open window and towards the Quidditch
Pitch.
Walking
forward, Peter carefully shook Remus awake.
"Remus…Remus,
wake up…Remus…"
Remus
woke up. At first, he shyed away from the small, slightly pudgy figure that was
Peter, and until he recognized him, Remus wouldn't let Peter near him, growling
softly in his throat, almost inaudible under the rustling of the sheets he lay
on as he scrambled back.
"Remus,
Remus, it's me, it's Peter, Remus."
The
growling slowed, finally stopped. Remus didn't move forward, but he stopped
trying to move back. He avoided Peter's eyes. They waited in silence for a few
minutes.
Then
two noisy crashes sounded, and James and Sirius burst into the dorm, slamming
the door behind them as they stood, gasping by the now closed door. Remus leapt
back again, against the head board, and there was a loud 'thud' as he slammed
against it. The growling started up again.
James
and Sirius started forward slowly, approaching Remus like one would approach a
scared and cornered wolf. Werewolf. Remus watched them distrustfully for a few
seconds, before the growling slowed, and reached a new pitch. A gentler tone,
before it stopped completely.
Sirius
gently led a still cowering Remus to another bed, while James and Peter
stripped his not altogether dry sheets, getting some more from the cupboard
outside on the stairway.
10
minutes later, they were all seated on Remus' bed, watching carefully as the
real Remus returned into his eyes. He looked almost startled to see them their,
staring at him, concerned.
"Guys,
I-"
"Shush,
Remus. Look, we know about you, and we know that you know that we know."
Remus
fell silent.
"Remus,
you told us 4 years ago."
"I
know, I just…guys, I can feel it inside me. It's growing, it wants out more and
more often…it wants someone…"
James,
Sirius and Peter exchanged worried glances as Remus sat and examined the
patterns crisscrossing on his sheet.
"Remus,
we-"
"I
can't help it!" the outburst was quick, shocking them. They weren't expecting
what followed either. "This thing is eating me alive! And I cant do a thing about
it, and it's so scary, and I'm so scared and so cold and there's no one there,
and there never will be because they all left me and-"
"Remus!"
Sirius shook him, bringing him back. The scared look flew out of Remus' eyes
sometime during that shake.
"Remus,
we won't leave you, and you will never be left alone. Ever. We are your
friends, and we are going to be the 4 marauders!"
At
this, he looked up. "Huh?"
James
sighed, looking forgiving. "Remus, you know what we were planning. We might
just have succeeded, we only need to see a few more things."
"Succeeded
at what?"
Sirius
answered. "Becoming animagi."
It
was later on that night, the moon was up and full, Peter was asleep, Remus was
in the shack, and James and Sirius were completing an astronomy project.
"Hey,
Potter!"
James
turned, too quickly, too eagerly for Sirius' liking.
"Move
over, you're blocking Polaris, and I can't see through you."
James,
the born flirter, the heart-breaker, blushed, and turned back to the window
before Lily could see it, moving over slightly and pushing Sirius out of the
way. It was only a shuffle or two to the side, but it was enough. Sirius sent a
murderous look his way, and stalked off down the stairs. James was left
watching after him in confusion.
"Noo!" A female shriek pierced the snarls that were
filling the air. "No, you killed him, you – you monster!"
There
was a loud bang, and a silver bullet shot past his ear. With a yelp that belied
his daring and courage, he scrabbled to get out of his house, his tail between
his legs.
On
the hill, looking over the place where he had lived, he sat down, and started
licking the blood off his muzzle. Suddenly, a howl rent the air. It was from
far away. He almost felt the urge to go find the other wolf, but then his
territory might be taken. Standing up, he lifted his muzzle to the full moon
and howled, and eery, creepy sound, mixed with the heartbroken sobs from the
house below…
Remus sat bolt upright in bed. No. No, not again. It was
probably the second worst moment of his life, licking his father's blood of his
lips. Being shot at by his mother, whom he had –
His
lips opened wide in a soundless scream, and the curtains around his bed were
ripped back.
Sirius
sat himself slowly on Remus' bed, and took the boy's shuddering figure in his
arms, ignoring the unmanliness of this act. Remus needed a friend, and he was
the only one there. Not that he wouldn't hesitate if James or Peter were there
as well, but …
Remus
slowly calmed down, and Sirius released him.
"You
ok, man?"
Remus
nodded slowly. "Yea. It was just-"
"You
have to tell us, you know."
"What?"
"You
have to tell us one of these days what you're nightmares are about, or we can't
help you."
"But
I-"
"Not
yet, if you don't want to, but one day."
Remus
nodded. "They're usually about the night I bit my father … and … and …"
He
started crying again, so Sirius held him again, whispering soft, comforting
words that made no sense.
"I
didn't say you had to do it today, silly… just tell us one day, ok?"
"If I tell you, then you must tell me." Came Remus' soft reply.
Sirius
was taken aback. "Huh?"
"What's
with you and James and Lily?"
Sirius
frowned, his face darkening enough to make him look dangerous. "James is my
friend. If he starts going with a girl, he'll have no time for any of us."
"How
do you know?"
"That's
what Matt did."
"Matt?"
"My … elder step brother. Before I came to Hogwarts, I lived with him. He was
my pal. I could tell him anything, do anything with him, and he was only mine."
"But
then he met a girl."
Sirius
nodded. "She was nice, I suppose, as far as girls go, but she stole him from
me. My best friend. I can't let two go."
Remus
smiled sadly, and after a few false starts, quietly told Sirius his story.
"I
was 5 when I got the bite. You knew that, you and James and Peter. What you
don't know, however, is when I was 14, this last summer is that I bit my
father. At 14, a werewolf is typically an adult. I, myself, however, wasn't, so
I could barely control it. He…my father, he didn't lock me up in time, he was
busy joking around with my mother, and he wasn't paying attention to the moon.
So he didn't really notice when it shone in the window and onto me. He did,
however, notice when I started transforming. I can't remember much from then on
but-"
"Noo!"
Stay away from her!"
"I … I think he tried to jump in between me and my-"
Remus choked. "Mother. She was nearer to where I was I think. Anyway, so he was
the one to get bitten. Then my mother, she… she went .. beserk. She ran to the
table while I was …. And grabbed my father's specially loaded gun… Then she
shot at me…"
A loud gunshot, and a silver bullet flew past his ear, flying into the
wall…
"So I ran outside, I think. I can't remember anything
else. But the wolf obviously remembered. The next month, my mother, she… didn't
tie me up properly … my father died, you see. She went mad. I think she was
planning for me to .. to …"
Remus couldn't go on. Silent tears were pouring down his
face, and Sirius ached to see and hear him.
Ignoring Sirius, Remus threw himself face down on the
pillow, crying bitterly.
"Remus…"
"Go away." The reply was muffled.
Sirius left him alone. Remus hadn't cried like this
since… Since he had told them he was a werewolf, and they said they would
promise to stay friends with him. He had kept it in, all summer. It was time to
let him cry. When he wanted to cry on shoulders, there would be at least 3
pairs to cry on. But now Remus had to handle some of the tears by himself,
along, and Sirius understood that need. As Sirius silently left the dorm to head
up to the Astronomy Tower to finish his project, James removed his invisibility
cloak in shock. Well. … Well.
Sirius yawned. It was too late to be doing schoolwork, he
needed to have some fun. Idly, he filled in some of the star placement as he
thought up some things to do. They hadn't put dungbombs under Snape's bed for
at least a week. He might start wondering where they were.
Sirius smirked, and hearing footsteps behind him, called
a greeting.
"Heya Sirius."
"Hi again James."
There was silence for a few seconds. "Sirius, I heard you
and Remus talk."
Sirius stiffened up a bit. "I thought you were with
Peter."
"Madam Pomfrey chased me out."
Peter had been cursed by Snape and now looked remarkably
like a banana.
"Figures."
"Sirius, even if I do like Lily – which I don't –
we'll always be best friends. She isn't in my dorm, she doesn't know where I
live, she doesn't even like me."
Sirius turned slightly amused eyes to his friend. "Of
course she does."
"How do you know?"
"Remember that day we were under the big tree about a
week ago?"
"Yea?"
"The day before that I found this."
Sirius handed a confused James a slip of paper and
smiled. "You know, you're not a bit like Matt. So I'll believe you this once.
But… You ever dump me for a girl, and I will happily throttle the life out of
you and then quite merrily feed her to the giant squid."
James grinned. "Agreed. But … The poor squid…"
Sirius laughed. "Well, I'll go see if I can sneak in to
visit Peter. He neds to know about Remus as well."
"Cya later, Sirius."
Sirius left quickly, and James curiously opened the note.
Lily Evans Potter
X
Mrs James Potter
X
Lily Potter
James Evans
X
Lily Potter Evans
X
James grinned.
"So that's how we became animagi, Harry."
"Are you sure Sirius? I didn't actually notice anthing about
animagi in there."
"Ok, fine. So that's
how your parents got together."
Harry laughed. "That's better. By the way…"
"Yea?"
"Did Remus ever cry on your shoulders?"
Sirius' face became slightly serious. "Yea. It took him a
while, but he's sort of over it."
Harry smiled. "So…"
"So?"
"So, did you see the Quidditch finals today?"
AN: Well .. that was new.. Anyway, 2 things.
1.
I wanted to give Remus' parents a new way to die. Usually,
they're killed by Voldemort.. But this way's a bit more dramatic, and adds to
the drama of poor Remus' life. ;.;
2.
Sirius strikes me as the slightly protective-possesive type
sometimes, so, for a change, as I usually write him as being a lovable goofball
(we all love to love lovable goofballs =P) I decided to try him like this.
Did you like this? It's new… I
know.. its weird…please review and tell me what you think!
Cheers and white ferrets!! ^^
