Disclaimer: Characters owned by J K Rowling.
Summary:
Castle of Destiny - 1971
'Visiting the Hospital'
It was about six o'clock on the evening of the second of November. Up in the Gryffindor dormitories, young Remus Lupin was carefully retrieving his tattered old travelling cloak from his scratched trunk and placing it around his shoulders.
Yet again, Remus had changed. OK, so they had not been turned in by whomever had caught them preparing their Halloween prank - which had gone exceedingly well, by all accounts - but after his talk with Sirius under one of the long tables, Remus had begun to retreat slightly. He was still close friends with the other three First Years, especially so with Sirius, but calling himself a coward (in no uncertain terms) had made him realise just how stressful this friendship was. He was constantly lying to all of them, pretending that nothing was wrong and that he was, in fact, as human as they thought him to be. And despite Sirius's comforting words, he still did not feel as though he deserved the friendship of three such kind boys.
So he had tried to distance himself ever so slightly, returning to his old habits of hunching in upon himself and speaking quietly. His stutter had hit back in full force, for it had been slowly but surely slipping away. And now, on the night of the full moon, he was preparing to lie to their faces and tell them all that he was visiting his mother in the hospital. His cloak now securely fastened, he left the dormitory to find his friends in the Common Room.
He did not need to search for long. Sirius, James and Peter had claimed a set of squishy chairs from the second evening of term, and Remus had only needed to pull up another to join them. The four of them sat there every day, for no one dared to challenge Sirius and James's constant threats of lifelong curses upon anyone who took the chairs. So it was here that he found them, lounging carelessly around the coffee table whilst Peter struggled pointlessly with a Potions essay.
"G-g-guys?" he began, and they all looked up. "I-I'm going t-t-to visit m-my m-m-mother, s-so d-don't p-p-panic when I'm n-not in bed t-t-tonight." Refusing to meet any of their eyes, he turned on his heel and began to pick his way across to the back of the Fat Lady's portrait to leave.
-----
Sirius blinked up at the other boy in astonishment. Going home?! That... That isn't allowed here, surely? Otherwise I would have been summoned home months ago!
"Hey Remus! Wait!" He leapt up and hurried after the other boy, James and Peter close behind. "Remus! Why're you going home?! It's a Tuesday night! We've got lessons tomorrow!"
-----
Remus froze as Sirius called out his name, visibly wincing at his question. "I n-n-need to v-visit my m-m-mother in h-hospital," he said again, so quietly that no one other than his friends would hear. He looked at the floor, refusing to meet their eyes again. "She's n-not at S-Saint M-M-Mungo's, and th-there are only c-c-certain times I-I'm allowed t-t-to see her. H-her c-c-condition is unst-st-stable, you s-see, and w-we d-d-don't know w-when - i-if, they s-s-say, b-but I kn-know it's w-when - she's g-going to d-d-die. Sh-she only allowed m-m-me to c-come t-t-to Hogwarts i-if they l-l-let m-me out t-to visit h-h-her, and P-P-Professor D-Dumbledore agreed. She d-d-doesn't c-care what I m-m-miss, I c-catch up a-a-anyway, so I-I'm n-n-never behind in my st-st-studies. I'm a 'Sp-Sp-Special C-Case.'" He finally looked up, his eyes terrified. "P-p-please l-let me g-g-go, there's a c-c-carriage outside f-for me and I c-c-can't let the d-driver wait any l-l-longer."
And little did they know just what little time Remus had left. Barely twilight, the moon would be risen in all of forty-five minutes. In all of fifty minutes, Remus would no longer be Remus.
But they could not know that.
-----
Sirius
stared at Remus for a moment, silver eyes betraying nothing. Special
case? In all my years of preparation for attending this school, I
never heard of a single circumstance that allows a student off-campus
on a Tuesday evening. Whatsmore... He's awfully defensive. He
wouldn't lie though... Would he?
James stood up suddenly, and clapped Remus on the shoulder. "Well, we'll go down to the doors with you, won't we Sirius?! We can't leave you to wander off all by yourself, can we! Anyway, no time to waste, so lets go!" James hurried off towards the portrait, and it took Sirius a full twenty seconds to summon up enough presence of mind to give Remus a slight nod, and hurry off after James, looking determinedly straight ahead, refusing to catch Remus' eye.
-----
Remus glanced back to the floor as Sirius finally reacted, giving a tiny nod before setting off to the portrait hole. He glanced to the floor again, wondering at Sirius's coldness, before following his friends out of the Common Room. There was just no point in trying to convince them not to accompany him, he would just try and throw them off if they offered to take him to his "carriage," but he sensed a wariness from Sirius.
He pondered why as he walked in silence, tagging behind Sirius, James and (once he had caught up) Peter. They knew of his "mother's illness," he told them about it in the library, so it could not be surprise at that. Perhaps his explanation just was not good enough?
And just like that, the panic began to set in again.
-----
During the slow walk through the rapidly darkening corridors of Hogwarts, Sirius watched Remus closely. Though there was nothing really suspicious, per say, there was definitely something that Sirius couldn't quite place his finger on. There's something... Something different about him. Something... Ugh. Sirius gave up in disgust, as whatever it was that had alerted his suspicions drifted back into the cobwebby back corners of his mind, successfully evading his grasp.
Shaking his head, he walked a bit faster, catching up with James who was leading the way - and out of the corner of his eye, he could've sworn he saw Remus' shoulders tense.
-----
By the time the four of them had reached the Entrance Hall, Remus was well into the stages of a mild panic attack. He could not stop himself from trembling, so he wrapped his arms around himself to try and stop people from seeing it. Hyperventilation began to set in as his chest began to ache, and he clutched his ribcage harder as his head began to spin. Not only was this because of his worry about Sirius's less-than-friendly reaction, but these symptoms also signified the beginning of his transformation process.
He had just thirty minutes left to get to his room in the Shrieking Shack before he became the hated beast hidden deep within him.
Just thirty more minutes to savour the sensation of humanity before he lost it for the night.
Oh, Merlin, just let him get to the doors and leave. Just let him leave!
-----
For once, it was James, not Sirius, who was paying attention to his surroundings, and consequently it was him who heard the footsteps first. "Quick!" he hissed. "Remus, go! We'll cover for you! Go!" Sirius tensed, and was just about to follow James, who was hurrying back towards the staircase, when he turned back.
"Remus?" He said. "I... I hope your mother feels better soon." Then, with a slight smile, and a swish of silk robes, he turned, and hurried after James.
-----
Remus suddenly snapped to attention at the sound of approaching footfalls, and he quickened his pace to reach the huge main doors of the castle. He was just about to whisk them open and sneak outside when he heard Sirius speak. Alas, he did not have time to thank Sirius for his kind gesture before he caught sight of a sliver of robes making their way up from the dungeons. Deciding once more that he did not wish to be caught in the act of breaking curfew again, he shot a smile at the back of Sirius's head before darting through the doors and out into the twilight.
Once the doors were closed behind him, he could relax. No one could see him, not any more, and with a swift shake that made his entire body spasm, he shook off his panic. He refused to smile as he set off at a run, moving at a speed impossible for normal humans, sprinting across the grounds and towards the Whomping Willow.
Towards his living nightmare.
-----
They didn't even make it to the staircase.
Instead, the greasy-haired kid from the other night crept out from the corridor leading to the dungeons, his face set in a triumphant scowl. Before James or Sirius could do anything - namely make threats of curses, hexes, teachers and death - the kid spoke.
"You're not supposed to be out here." His voice was surprisingly steady and smooth - completely contrasting with his jittery, childish appearance. "First-years aren't allowed outside after dark. I'll tell a teacher that you're trying to sneak out."
James spluttered indignantly in protest, but it was Sirius who spoke, his monotonous voice aristocratic and emotionless. "We're not going outside."
The kid's scowl deepened and he shrugged. "Well. It's my word against yours. And who are they going to believe? An A-grade student, or a pair of pranksters with no regard for the rules who ruin certain festive holidays for everyone with ill-planned chaos and destruction?"
This was just unforgivable. James went red and stepped forwards, but Sirius stopped him with a single hand on his shoulder. "Don't, James. He's bluffing. He's got no proof. Nothing. Somewhat hypocritical of you to mention ill-planning, don't you think, Slytherin?" It was the Slytherin's turn to blush, now. "What is it that you want, anyway? We've no quarrel with you."
The kid sneered, but Sirius' could've sworn he could see something almost... desperate, almost hopeful in the boy's eyes. However, before he could speak, the unmistakeable sound of footsteps approached, accompanied by the harsh voice of Professor McGonagall.
"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?! FIRST-YEARS, BREAKING CURFEW! AND TWO GRYFFINDORS AT THAT! EXPLAIN YOURSELVES, IMMEDIATELY!"
Sirius opened his mouth to speak, but the Slytherin got there first. "They're sneaking out!" McGonagall glared at him.
"Thank you Mr. Snape - but do kindly follow my instructions, and explain your own presence here?!" James snorted, and finally spoke up.
"Professor, we were just saying goodbye to Remus - you know, cos he has to go home and stuff-" McGonagall glared at him.
"Be that as it may, Mr. Potter, it is against the rules! Forbidden, you understand! You must never attempt this again. Is that understood?!" Sirius shook his head.
"We just felt it was wrong to let him go alone, Professor. He's our friend." McGonagall's eyes looked suspiciously shiny for a moment, before she seemed to pull herself together, and remind herself of her own anger.
"While that is admirable, Mr. Black, it is against the rules! Therefore, all three of you shall serve detention with me - for the rest of the week! Is that clear?"
"But, Professor McGonagall, I was just making sure they weren't going to pull another prank, that's all!" McGonagall turned slowly to face Snape.
"As I am sure I've already said, Mr. Snape, keep to your own business! Your detention still stands. As for you two... I think a weeks detention will still suffice. I am sure you have learnt the error of your ways - and I trust it will not happen again."
James sighed and together with Sirius, trailed back to Gryffindor Tower, leaving Snape standing alone in the darkened corridor.
The Marauders would never know that all he had wanted was to make friends.