Wolves Among The Sheep - One moonlit night in the Forbidden Forest, a small girl with a big problem finds that she is not the only one.
Time passed slowly, much to the displeasure of the beast that roamed across the moonlit clearing. It had waited out the night in the Forbidden Forest, pacing back and forth beneath the trees and seeking distraction from its intense hunger. There were only a few moments left in the night of the full moon, and the creature would soon be returning to its original form beneath the bright rays of the morning sun. The night had been quiet, with not a single animal daring to move and face the creature that it stood before. Suddenly, the creature tilted its ear in the direction of the bushes; there was a rustling noise though the leaves, and then a howl.
The creature shook its head and moved forward to take a closer look. The bushes moved once more, and a form emerged from the brush. It was another werewolf. The first wold looked up to the sky, and felt a tingling senesation as the rays of sunlight washed the fur from it's skin and pulled it up into a standing position. It was a woman, no older than fifteen, with dark hair and darker eyes; she was clothed in what she wore before she transformed: Ravenclaw robes. She looked back to the other werewolf, and from behind him emerged a well-groomed dog, a filthy looking rat, and a majestic stag. As she looked at them, they began to change just as she had. Without warning, three very familiar figures stood in front of her.
"Marauders." she whispered. The man that was a dog just moments ago looked at her curiously and said, "Silly Lori, you seem to have forgotten to mention to us that you, too, have a 'furry little problem'." She opened and closed her mouth a few times, failing to force any words to come out. Finally, she managed to say, "So… do you come here often?" with a wink.
The five of them all walked back to the castle in silence, each occasionally looking behind them to take in the handsome flow of the sunrise over the trees. When they arrived at the front door to the castle, James stopped. "We aren't going in until we all talk. Loretta, shall we go first, or you?" he said. Loretta looked down at her feet, far from excited to share her story with the boys. "Remus first," she said, "then we, and then you three. Deal?" The boys all nodded and in unison they said, "Deal."
Remus explained how he found himself in the dark predicament that they were discussing, and how he had been coping with it. He nodded at Loretta and said, "Your turn." She took in a deep breath. "I was in my second year," she began, "and I was out past curfew. I had a good reason, though. Lucius Malfoy and his friends tired a pair of my shoes together and charmed them to fly themselves out into the middle of the forest. Therefore, like a naïve and innocent girl that I was, I went after the shoes. I was sure that 'forbidden' was just a title given to the forest so that kids would not hide in it to avoid classes. In my twelve year old mind, there was no way that anything in that forest was going to hurt me."
Sirius let out a quiet laugh, and she glared at him. However, after a silent moment, she began to join him in laughter, though it was at her own expense. Soon, all five of the teenagers were cracking up at the absurdity of the idea: the Forbidden Forest is safe, and the adults just want to keep us from all of the fun. When their laughter died down, she spoke again. "Greyback was in the forest that night, and when he heard the shoes land there he ran to them, and waited for someone to claim them. He had me by the leg, and pulled me deeper into the forest. The centaurs fought him off, while Firenze carried me back to the castle. Dumbledore ensured me that he would tell no one, and that I could return to my classes once my wound had healed." she said.
There was a long and unbearable silence between the five of them, and so Loretta cleared her throat and said, "Well boys, it's your turn. Why aren't you human?" She laughed awkwardly and looked at James. "Unregistered animagi, we are. We saw that Moony over here was having a hard time, and we knew that he couldn't do it on his own. So we sneaked off into the-" James was prepared to continue, but Loretta held up a finger and interrupted him. "I don't want to know the sketchy details," she said, "but that's very sweet of you all, what you did for Remus. You know, taking care of each other."
Remus turned a shade of pink and said, "I didn't really need to be 'taken care of', but they were indeed a great help when it came to self control." Sirius shook his head and said, "Damn near babysat the man." She laughed at this and then turned her head towards the door. "Well then," she said, "shall we?" James nodded towards the wooden door and said, "We shall." They pushed open the heavy door and then stood awkwardly in the large corridor. The girl wondered what was proper to say to someone after you found out that they were a werewolf; was she to apologize, or something of the sort? The Marauders, however, had no trouble finding the words, as they had been through it before. "Moonlit strolls will never be romantic, in my eyes." Peter said, speaking for the first time that night. They all laughed, and Loretta parted ways with the four Marauders, making her way to her common room.