Chapter Ten-A Cry in the Night

So what if you can see

The darker side of me

No one will ever change

This animal I have become

Animal I Have Become, 3 Days Grace

Remus lay on the ripped bed, watching the clouds curling slowly across the sky. Those clouds were his savior, his protection. He new they wouldn't be there for long, but he savored his time. For when the clouds had departed, his worst fear would be unmasked. Then the pain would come. Pain, shooting through his limbs, his spine, piercing through his head. Thousands of red hot needles, stabbing into his body, over and over again, until it would suddenly stop. But, as soon as the pain stopped, the madness began. Rage, furious rage, coursing through his veins, through his own blood. Unspeakable anger shrouding his vision, clouding his judgment. Ferocity spilling into his mind, his thoughts. Alien instincts coursing through his brain, spilling into his conscience.

At least it only comes once a month. Remus thought meekly.

Yes, once a month the unfortunate boy had to go through torture unlike any other. Once every month, with the rise of the full moon. Lycanthropy some called it. Some referred to it as a disease. James thought of it as a "furry little problem". Remus thought of it as a curse.

His transformations had become slightly less painful in fifth year, however. James, Sirius, and Peter had become unregistered animagi. Every month they would wait for Remus to be taken to the Shrieking Shack, a crooked house that was believed to house violent and evil spirits. In reality, it was a place where Remus could transform without being a threat to anyone. After he was escorted into a tunnel under the Whomping Willow, and extremely violent tree that hit anything that came within ten feet of it, that led to the Shack, his fellow Marauders would sneak down to join him, Peter as a rat, James as a stag, and Sirius as a giant dog. Peter, being the smallest, would press the knot on the tree trunk that froze the giant tree, therefore granting passage to James and Sirius. The Marauders would wait in the shack until the moon was out and Remus had transformed. Since animals are not infected by the bite of a werewolf, the three animagi were safe. The four animals would wonder around school grounds and the Forbidden Forest, James and Sirius keeping Remus in check. Unfortunately, the Marauders had landed themselves in detention. For obvious reasons, Remus had been excused, but he would have to wait three hours into his transformation for company.

Now three hours might not seem too long to some people, but to werewolves, especially lone werewolves, three hours can seem a lifetime. With no one there, Remus would be forced to bit and wound himself, as he used to before fifth year.

Remus climbed off the bed trembling. The last of the clouds had begun to disappear. Remus closed his eyes, trying to calm himself.

Suddenly, and without warning, the pain began.

Red hot fire came tearing into his shaking limbs, piercing through his muscles as they began to distort, started to form the shape of a wolf. His ears ached and throbbed as they elongated, his skull felt like it was cracked open as it reformed into that of a wolf. His eyes contracted and expanded as his vision became keener. His nose and mouth stretched tautly, painfully, as they formed a snout. His gums ached with a dull but intense pain as his teeth became sharper, longer, to form fangs. Remus fell onto his hands and knees as a horrible, sharp pain began along the bottom of his spine, the beginnings of his tail. Sharp claws formed along the tips of his fingers, piercing his skin. His hands turned to powerful paws, his legs became more slender, but muscular. Then, the beginning of the transformation was over.

Remus lay panting, waiting for the next stage, for he lay collapsed on the shredded rug, a wolf, yet a naked one. Not a single hair could be found on his body, not even on his tail, not on his back, not on his head. He didn't even have a single whisker. Then, as suddenly as the first pain had begun, so did his one.

There came the sudden sensation of thousands of red hot needles piercing his skin, twisting and turning in the most agonizing way possible. Remus gritted his newly formed teeth as the pain moved all over his body, tufts of gray fur growing in its wake. Finally, after an excruciating ten minutes, it was over. Remus the werewolf stood upon the moth-eaten rug, gasping and panting for breath. The pain was over, but the madness had not yet begun.

Suddenly he could feel it, an alien presence in his mind that was always secluded from his thoughts until the full moon. It began to creep in now, drowning out his brain, his conscience, his ability to think. Slowly, no matter how hard he struggled, Remus turned into a full-fledged monster. Before he could totally sink into the ferocity of the wolf, his thoughts returned to his friends. His last sensible thought was:

Hurry

Then he was gone; a wolf stood snarling, ready to bite, to fight, but with no one there but himself.

A terrible, blood-curdling cry pierced the night.

James looked up, his face turning grim as he heard a sound that made his blood run cold. He turned to Sirius, who was working right beside him, thinking the same thing as James.

He's changed.

The wolf ran through the house, biting anything that got in his way. He threw chairs and tables against walls, overturned desks and beds, sending them crashing to the floor. He yelped as he inflected wound upon wound to himself. He needed warm flesh to bite into, he needed to taste blood.

He was so over come by his blood lust that he abandoned the furniture, fixing all his attention on himself.

Shrieks pierced the night air.

Sirius and James turned the corner from McGonagall's office and their walk turned into a run. Peter huffed along behind them, trying to keep up. They raced down the hallways as yelps and howls shattered the air outside the Entrance Hall. They burst through the doors, now transforming as they went.

Since animagi willingly transform into animals, they do not feel the pain that werewolves do, only a slight tingle as their bodies transfigure.

In place of three teenage boys, there were now two magnificent animals racing down the slightly damp lawns of the grounds. Peter was still transforming, being the slowest of the three.

The stag and the dog raced through the grass and reached the Whomping Willow. They looked behind them impatiently, trying to see where Peter was. Suddenly, a rat tore through the grass and rushed for the tree. It squeaked, frightened, as it dodged the swinging branches. It reached the base of the tree and lifted its tail to press a knot on the trunk.

The dog and the stag ran forward, joining the rat at the beginning of the tunnel, a huge hole in the tree trunk.

They rushed through the tunnel, stumbling over roots as they went. The stag had to lower his head so his antlers wouldn't scrape along the roof.

They finally reached the end of the tunnel, scrambling out so they could stop their friend from inflicting further injuries upon himself.

They heard terrible cries, moans, and howls coming form the other side of the house, so they rushed through the rooms, until finally they came into a bedroom that had been utterly destroyed. A silver-gray wolf stood, snarling at them amidst the wreckage. The Peter scampered up James' foreleg and onto his back where he perched between his ears, his tail wrapped firmly around James' antlers. James and Sirius glanced at each other with concern when they noticed the fresh blood spattered around the room and dripping from Remus; dripping from his torn ears, his legs, and his underbelly.

They walked carefully over, trying to get Remus to recognize him, knowing that beneath the insatiable blood-lust, their friend was trying to regain his control. The saw a flicker of recognition in his eyes and he slowly stopped snarling. James and Sirius walked back to the doorway, waiting for the wolf to join them.

The moon shone bright upon the grounds as the four animals stalked the night, getting into whatever mischief lay around them.

Remus relaxed slightly as part of his wolfish instincts backed off. He knew that should he get out of hand, the stag and dog positioned beside him would be able to keep him in control. He was actually able to enjoy himself as a wolf now that he had some of his self control back. The three friends stopped walking, and they all looked at each other, smiling in animal like ways. One look was all it took.

The three bounded towards the Forbidden Forest, the rat trembling in slight fear upon the stags head as the trees loomed up to meet them.

Lily rubbed her hand on the window pane, trying to clear it of the fog that was obscuring her view. She sat carefully down on the window pane, covering her candle with her hand so the light wouldn't disturb her dorm mates. She peered into the dark night while rubbing her eyes with her free hand. Lily had been woken by a terrible cry that had shattered the peaceful calm of her dreams. As she gazed into the night, she thought she saw to figures racing across the night with a third stumbling behind them. Lily's nose wrinkled with curiosity has she followed their rapid trek through the grass. Her mouth dropped open slightly as she realized they were headed to the Whomping Willow. She watched with even more shock as the third figure seemed to shrivel up and shrink into the ground. Lily watched as the grass around where the person had been seemed to move, jumping in front of the still running figures and heading straight towards the violent tree. She rubbed her eyes vigorously with both hands this time. Unfortunately, doing so cause her to miss the two sprinting figures run into the light of her window, therefore missing the sight of two black-haired boys and the glint of something that could only be glasses. Indeed, Lily rubbed her eyes for so long that by the time she looked back out onto the sloping lawns, there wasn't a being in sight, human or otherwise.

Hours later, had anyone happened to look out their window, like the now baffled Lily, they would have seen for animals frolicking by the lake in the light of the sinking moon.

There was a huge black dog that was rolling around in the grass on his back, tongue lolling out of his mouth. In the lake, a rat was dog-paddling around in the shallows near shore, occasionally ducking its head under water, only to resurface a few seconds later and shake the droplets off its ears. There was also a stag, which was just swimming over from the deeper water. When he reached the shore, he shook his entire body, sending water spraying water onto the dog, who bounded up at once and began to play-wrestle with him. Laying on one of the branches of the willow tree that was giving them shelter was a wolf. The wolf's golden eyes were closed contentedly, his tail flicking back and forth. He opened one tawny eye lazily at the antics of his larger companions, then yawned and leaped gracefully down to join them.

Hours passed like this with the Marauders jumping and playing, until dawn started to show its rosy fingers on the earth. Looking up, the animals stopped what they were doing and started across the grounds so that they would reach the Shrieking Shack before the sun could transform Remus back to normal for the school to see.

They had barely made into the shack when the sun made its appearance over the horizon. The wolf walked slowly over to the window so that the golden light fell upon his fur.

Remus felt the presence of the wolf recede, leaving him in full control of himself once again.

Ok, is it just me or does lycanthropy remind anyone else of PMS??? Sorry, had to ask…..anywayz, if you liked it, review! If you didn't, review anywayz!!!

Thanks to zodiac1805, Nocturnal007, Drake0x, Grace, and flower123, for being the first ones to review, and a special thanks to Tammy, for telling me what a fanfic is, and getting me started on writing them, to Alex (Amortentiaxo) for helping me along the way and posting my Titanic one-shot (Going Home) for me and for pointing out any time-line errors I may have made, and to Fluffysmarts for reviewing several times and giving me several tips and inspirations  Thanks a lot guys!!!