DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters in this story, except prehaps jessica and leanne, lilly's friends, but they arent even in this chapter.

AN: i am truly sorry to any who think i may be dragging this story on, but here it is: the chapter where james sirius and peter find out the remus is a werewolf. i am dedicating this chapter to freya, a friend of mine whom i was meant to visit today but was too sick, so im updating instead. also she was the one who got me into fanfiction and one of the ones who wants me to update the most. go freya!! anyway, here we go - enjoy!!

Chapter Ten: The Transformation

Remus Lupin was standing in his dormitory, unpacking some of the contents of his trunk into a small over night duffle bag. Sirius, James and Peter where there too, pretending not to watch when in reality, they were very interested in what Remus was doing.

"Do you think your mother will be any better this time, Remy?" Sirius asked, flicking his hair casually out of his eyes.

"I'm really not sure," Remus replied, with out missing a beat. He could lie easily now, and he despised himself for it. What type of person can lie so easily to his friends? He wondered miserably. Am I truly that awful, that I can lie to my three best friends in the world, constantly, and not even bat an eye lid?

"Well, we have something for you to give her," Peter said, jumping off his bead and rummaging through his trunk. Remus stiffened slightly for a moment, but didn't turn around and continued to place things in his small bag. He did turn around though, when Peter placed a large amount of cakes and sweets on the bed. They had been placed in a large wicker basket, which had then been covered in bright yellow ribbons.

"We didn't know what she would like," Peter said carefully "So we got all your favourites, in case you have similar tastes."

"And these," James offered a large envelope which had been packed full of parchment. It was addressed to Mrs. Lupin, in Sirius's untidy scrawl. "There just letters, saying that we're friends of yours, and that we hope she gets better soon." James explained.

Remus reached out to take the letters, shaking as he did so. He felt horrible, not only because soon he would transform soon, but because he was lying to his friends. And not just that, but they accepted the lie as truth, and they trusted him all the same. He felt that he didn't deserve three friends such as these, and was on the verge of telling them everything, when Sirius stood up.

"Better get going, mate," he said. "I'm sure she'll be happy to see you." Then each of the friends took it in turns to give Remus a one armed hug, (which they had never done before) and they said their farewells. Remus left the dormitory, his head hung in shame, leaving the best friends he had ever had in a tangled web of lies. One that he created, yet he didn't know how to get them out.

James Potter, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew had broken a lot of school rules in their so far short span at Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry, and had so far barely felt the slightest tinge of guilt. Now, however, as the quickly hid under James' invisibility cloak and followed their dear friend through the halls and corridors, it felt like they were drowning in it.

"Maybe his is just visiting his mother," Peter said sorrowfully. "Maybe she is just really sick."

"Maybe," James said. "But if Remus is a werewolf, then I want to know. Then we can tell him that we know, and he won't have to lie to us anymore."

"Must be tearing him apart," Sirius mumbled. "Imagine keeping as big as that a secret. Don't think I could do it." James agreed quietly. Peter pointed ahead to where Remus was standing.

Remus had come to the a sort of fork in the corridor, where if he turned one way, it would take him to the headmasters office, where he would take the floo network to visit his mother, like he always said he did. If he chose this path, then James, Sirius and Peter would invisibly guide him to his destination, feeling relived that their friend was not lying, but racked with guilt that they couldn't trust him. If, however, Remus went the other way, then they would follow him through the castle until the realised what was really going on with their friend.

They watched, silently, barely daring to breath, as Remus tightened his grip on his duffle bag and overly large hamper. He looked both ways, at both forks, and then quickly glanced behind him into the apparently empty corridor. Then without further hesitation, he strode briskly onwards, taking the fork that led him away from the headmasters' office and his three concealed friends.

"You still want to do this?" Sirius whispered. James and Peter shook their heads.

"No, but we have to," James said. Peter let out a small squeak.

"Right, come on then."

Remus walked quickly to the hospital wing, where Madam Pomfrey was waiting.

"Right," she said in a brisk commanding voice. "Give me your things and I'll put them away for you." Remus handed over his duffle bag and hamper, which she raised an eyebrow at but said nothing. "Full moons tomorrow, how are you feeling?"

Remus shrugged. He felt the same as usual – sweaty, feverish, tired – he really just wanted to get it over with. Madam Pomfrey nodded, and looked at Remus with something like sympathy. The last thing he wanted right then was sympathy, so instead he looked out the window.

"How long till its dark?" he asked.

"Few more hours yet," the matron replied. "Why don't you sit over on the bed, and I'll come and fetch you when its time to go."

Remus did as he was told, and went to sit on a bed in the far corner. Madam Pomfrey bought a large screen to cover the bed, so no students would see him and then question him later. Remus laid his exhausted head on the pillow, pulling a large mass of heavy blankets over his shivering form. And he waited.

"Maybe he is sick?" Sirius asked. "Not his mother."

The three young Gryffindors had spent the last few hours crouched outside the hospital wing, whispering quietly to one another, speculating as to why Remus would be in the hospital wing. They wanted to think of a reason, any reason, besides him being a werewolf.

"Maybe he's a vampire," Peter whispered, staring at the far wall. Sirius and James both turned to face their friend with disbelieving looks upon their face. Peter turned to look at them. "What? It's possible."

"Yeah," Sirius remarked "About as possible as you flying to Mars on a broomstick." Peter blushed deeply.

"Actually," James said "It does make some sense."

"Have you both gone off your rockers?" Sirius hissed.

"Well, have you actually thought about?" Peter squeaked, excited now that someone agreed with him.

"He could be going to hospital wing, one a month, just to get his fix of blood," James murmured. "And the nightmares and all that other stuff, that's just because he hasn't had any for a while." Both James and Peter sat trance like, deep in thought on either side of Sirius.

"Oh for the love of…" Sirius dragged his two friends up by the wrists and pulled them over to Remus' bead, not even bothering to keep there feet covered by the cloak. Of course, James and Peter couldn't struggle, because that would create too much noise, so they had to just be pushed in whatever direction Sirius took them. The sight they saw shocked them:

Remus was lying under a dozen thick blankets, yet he was shivering. His face was pale and sweaty, and he looked close to vomiting. Madam Pomfrey bustled past them, and helped Remus to his feet. She took him to the door of the hospital wing, and slowly they made their way down the stairs, with James, Sirius and Peter following close behind.

They continued in this fashion, until they reached the grounds and the Whomping Willow. By now, it was pitch black, and if anyone happened to look out their window (not that they were) then they would never have been able to see Madam Pomfrey reach out with a large stick and jab sharply at the tree through its menacing branches. All of a sudden, the branches stilled, and the matron was able to lead Remus to a small gap near the roots. Several minutes later, she emerged. Quickly, she set the branches swinging again, and promptly returned to the castle.

The three friends stayed under the cover of the cloak for a long time, thinking.

"What should we do now?" Peter asked.

"Well, we can't stay here until the full moon," James said, staring critically at the sky.

"We'll take shift," Sirius suggested. "Watch tonight and tomorrow, and then tomorrow night when it's the full moon we'll all come back out and see what happens."

"You mean," Peter said in a small voice "Follow him in? In to the tree? But what if he's not there anymore?"

"Why don't we get to that when the time comes?" James said. "I'll take first watch. Sirius, I'll meet you in the closest charms classroom in four hours."

Sirius and Peter nodded, and snuck quietly back into the castle, leaving James under the cloak, completely invisible and alone.

The next night, nothing had changed. None of the boys had seen there friend leave, or anyone else approach the vicious Whomping Willow. They regrouped under the invisibility cloak on the night of the full moon, just before dark, and considered their limited options. They decided there was really one thing to do when you got this far: to just keep going.

Carefully, they approached the tree. As if it were sensing someone was near, it began to thrash out even more widely. The boys rummaged around trying to find a stick long enough to jab the trunk with, so they wouldn't get jabbed back (which was harder then it sounds, considering they were all still under the cloak). They couldn't find one, so had to make do with magically wielding some sticks together. It didn't appear like it would hold for very long, but maybe just long enough. After a great deal of effort (and having to re-wield a couple of times) they managed to poke the tree in just the right spot – a small knot close to the ground.

They crept forward, searching for a way into the tree. Sirius found a small opening near the ground, and quickly climbed in, followed by James and Peter. In the darkness of the tunnel, they felt it was safe to shed the cloak, and James stuffed it in his pocket. Lighting their wands, they marched onwards for what seemed like hours, until they heard a scream.

"It's Remus!" James yelled. "Come on!"

Sprinting, their breath sharp and ragged in their throats, the boys raced on, trying to reach their friend before pain engulfed him. Eventually, they reached a small hole in the tunnel, leading into a large dusty room. James, who was in the lead, was just about to jump in, when Sirius placed a powerful restraining hand on his shoulder. James tried to shove him off and looked back at his friends. Peter was chewing his nails, a look of horror plastered across his face. All colour had drained from Sirius' face, and he merely pointed back into the room.

The boys poked their heads through the hole, too shocked to turn away even though they wanted to.

Remus was screaming on the floor, withering around in pain. He was still pale and sweaty, and the blanket that had been wrapped around his shoulders only moments before now lay discarded on the ground. Slowly he turned to face the window, and all could see it was completely dark outside. A cloud moved to one side, showing the perfectly round moon. Remus quickly looked away, and in this instant saw his friends shocked faces staring in at him. He had no time to react to this, for soon his calves and legs had begun to grow long and thing, his eyes were widening. Remus' arms sprouted dark hair and claws replaced nails. Slowly, the screams of agony turned into howls. When the transformation was complete, the werewolf turned to face the three Gryffindor boys.

"Remus?"

Instead of any greeting however, the werewolf raised its hackles and turned its head towards the moon, letting out a deep, mournful howl. James took a step back and nearly knocked over Sirius, but both were able to keep there balance. Peter scrambled from his corner to stand with them. As a group, they were backing away slowly down the tunnel. The werewolf snarled and raised its hackles again.

"Run," James whispered, desperate to find his voice. "RUN!!"

They needed no encouragement.

Neither did the werewolf.

AN: ok, ive noticed at least two things about this story that other people may not like. first of all, i call remus "the werewolf" when he is transformed instead of remus. but he isnt really remus is he? he is nothing like remus, because remus would never chase his friends down a tunnel. second, when i do mention lilly, i add an extra 'l' to her name, which i noticed a lot of people dont, and it doesnt happen in the book either. well im sorry but for this story she will be lilly with two 'l's.

thats enough of my rambling - thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far, or put the story on favourites or alerts. you know who u are!! as for the rest of review!! pick up the slack, you will get a mention and i will love u for ever!! so review