Remus gradually came back to himself.
He was sore, but it wasn't as bad as it usually was. Moony tended to start harming himself towards the end of the full moon in frustration at not being allowed out to hunteatkill.
The only times that Remus could remember not waking up in pain were when his friends became animagus and ran with him. Basically, when Moony was distracted.
Abruptly, flashes of images colored in the red haze of bloodlust flashed behind his lids. He didn't recognize any of the faces; the memories were Moony's, and he didn't recognize humans unless they were the animagus Padfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail.
Remus' mind was straining, trying- and failing- to grasp onto the images as they swirled by faster and faster, stretching his concentration taut.
Then, finally, the tension snapped like a rubber band, and the memories fell into place. And Remus was almost physically sick, even in his half-conscious state.
He saw the claws as they tore into the child. And Moony's sick fascination and glee that tainted the memory made Remus' stomach roll.
Although he didn't recognize who it was, he knew that they were young. Moony's happiness, like he'd just gotten all his Christmas presents at once, testified to this fact. It sickened Remus.
And- Oh Merlin, God…- he could still taste the delicious, horrifying, warm blood when Moony bit, tearing flesh and sinew and bone…
Remus' eyes flew open with a lout, strangled, "OH SHIT!"
He stumbled to his feet, still weak. He was vaguely aware of James knocking Sirius out, then his subsequent breakdown.
But his eyes were firmly fixed upon the still, pale, bloodied form of one Severus Snape.
Remus limped swiftly forward, kneeling next to Severus, feeling frantically for a pulse.
He didn't know whether to laugh or cry when he felt the weak, faltering, but still-there thrum beneath his searching fingertips.
But he settled on crying when he saw the bloody, mangled mess that was Severus' shoulder, chest, and back; pulsing sickeningly with the green venom.
However, Remus didn't allow his grief and guilt to distract or deter him, so he continued inspecting Severus for any other injuries, besides the obvious one.
"James!" Remus barked, effectively snapping the distraught teen form his grief and horror-induced stupor. "I need you to tell me what happened. EVERYTHING. Now!"
James took a shuddering breath before visibly pulling himself together.
"S-Sirius tricked him into coming. I don't know how or why, but Peter knew and told me. I don't know how y-Moony," here James threw an apologetic glance at Remus, "got out, but when I got through the door, Moony already had his mouth latched on Severus' shoulder and… DAMMIT!" Remus only slightly flinched from the outburst. "I took a wrong turn! I NEVER get lost in the tunnel! If… if I'd only been in time… AGH!" James ran a hand through his untamable hair, tugging it almost viciously.
"James." Remus calmly brought him back to the situation at hand, "Finish. Tell me the rest."
James nodded, not trusting himself to speak any louder he whispered, "I… I was frozen. Sirius was collapsed against the back wall… and Moony and Severus…" Another deep breath, "I don't know what I cast, but it was strong, and powerful, cause it knocked Moony off Severus and unconscious. Snape collapsed, but he… he wasn't screaming. He refused to scream. He wouldn't even cry." Remus frowned slightly in shock at this. "And… and Remus, he looked almost relieved… I don't understand… Remus, what has his life been like that dying is a welcome relief?" It was obvious that worry and… guilt were eating James up on the inside.
And Remus knew why. If it turned out that Severus' life was shit, and it was all their fault, then James would never forgive himself. Yes, James was often pigheaded, cocky, oblivious, and sometimes quite insensitive, but he had a big heart.
"I… I don't know Prongs. But the pain, y'know, of transformation… is unimaginable. It's like your entire body is burning from the inside out, and burning and burning and there's just no end…" Remus' eyes were glazed, he was obviously caught in the memory of his own rather traumatic turning. He snapped himself out of it though. "I… I screamed for hours Prongs. It hurt like nothing I'd ever felt… or anything that I've felt since. My turning lasted for two days. I only stopped screaming when I fell unconscious, but I'd only awake to scream more. I couldn't speak for days afterwards…"
He looked back down from James' horrified face towards Severus' still one. "So… I don't understand how he could not scream. From what I've heard, it's like wizard pox, the older you are when bitten, the worse the transformation is. So I'd say that our dear classmate here is rather familiar with pain…" He stopped, the implications of what he was saying sinking into James' shocked state.
"Oh God…" He whimpered.
"Yeah." Remus agreed. He took a deep breath. "What happened before he fell unconscious?"
"Well, when he saw me, he laughed. But it was so broken, so harsh…" James shuddered, remembering. "Then he hacked up this thick green liquid before spasming. Then… he fell unconscious." He shrugged, missing the horrified look on Remus' face.
"He coughed up the venom?" James nodded. "Shit." Remus said again, for the second time in an hour. James looked up, shocked.
"That means that a rib pierced his lung, and the venom's moving faster than it should. The venom will heal the injury, don't worry about that," Remus was quick to assure seeing James' panicked face, "But the venom usually doesn't hit the lungs, heart, and stomach until the final stages. It moves through the blood, limbs, and bones, preparing and transforming the genes and DNA to allow for the transformation. When it reaches the heart, lungs, and stomach, is strengthens them, so that they can handle the strain of becoming a werewolf, and the rather," Remus scowled, "questionable diet that most werewolves are partial to." At James' uncomprehending look, Remus elaborated, "Raw meat." James grimaced, and Remus nodded in agreement.
"But, by the time the venom reached that stage, it's generally lost most of its potency. With Severus' lungs being affected this early on in the process, with the venom so much more powerful and potent, I really don't know what will happen. There's a possibility that the changes could carry on even when he's not in werewolf form." Remus rubbed his face, exhausted, and sick to his stomach. "There's just so much I don't know. I haven't met many werewolves, and generally the subject of being bitten is a rather unspoken taboo. And with everything already being so different…" Remus sighed. "I don't know… I just don't know."
They sat there for an endless moment, before James gave voice to the unasked question weighing the air around them, suffocating them in its tension. "What are we gonna do?"
Remus sighed, face buried in his hands. "I don't know James… but I think that we need to keep it secret. I don't understand why I feel that way, but my werewolf instinct are always most acute leading up to and right after the full moon… and I just feel that this is the best way. If the Headmaster heard of this… well, there's no telling whether or not he would allow me to continue at Hogwarts. He might have to expel me, if news ever got out of the 'dangerous dark creature' Albus allowed to endanger their children… and they'd be right." He sighed. "Not to mention, Dumbledore might not let Severus continue at Hogwarts. Think about it, an untrained, newborn werewolf. And with all that we've already done to him, I can't do that to him too. He deserves to be here… maybe more than even I do." This last part was a whisper; he clearly blamed himself for what had transpired.
James had nodded to Remus' decision, but before he could reply to Remus' self-deprecating thoughts… Severus woke up, onyx eyes snapping open, unfocused in their pain.
And he screamed.
