"No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite." – Nelson Mandela
The sheer eeriness of the Shack intensified the longer we all stood there, the heavy breaths coming from James and the loud pants from Sirius acting as a constant reminder that yes we had broken about a million school rules, and yes we were off school grounds in the vicinity of a Werewolf, whose behaviour we hadn't even checked on yet, and we were all only fourteen.
I wasn't at all impressed with our track record of decision making so far.
Dust motes floated innocently in the breeze, illuminated by the sliver of moonlight easing into the room from the half-hung curtains, while various parts of the decrepit, yet sturdy building creaked and squeaked ominously. A gentle nudge to my bottom caused me to yip loudly, before wheeling around. James' hazel eyes shining from behind those large 'Stag-Lids' of his. He nodded towards the door, and I sighed.
Yes, Peter was the smallest, but he was about as useful as a chocolate teapot in situations like these. Summoning as much courage as I could to this tiny little body, I urged myself forward, hearing Sirius whine after me. I skittered around each corner, finding fresh human shaped footprints in the inches-thick layer of dust headed towards the stairs. I tapped my paws loudly in a series of pauses and taps. Thankfully, Sirius realised I was calling them forward and they approached. I gestured with my head to the stairs, and James nodded again.
Agilely, I hopped the stairs. The door to my right had literally been torn from its hinges, partially hanging sadly in the doorway. That one'll be a no then… I moved my sharp eyes to the next door, which I noticed was shut, and completely silent. I heard a soft whine, and turned my head, only to find another door, closed, with the shadow of something moving behind it.
I gently yipped and scratched at the door. I heard the myriad clomps of the others climbing the stairs, when James approached and used his form to bolster the door open. We found Remus, curled up on the floor, licking a self-inflicted wound on his leg. He was enormous. Regardless of my current size, for an adolescent, he was taller than most humans. The length of his skinny limbs showed us that much. He was sparsely covered in sandy coloured fur, his amber eyes glinting like galleons in the darkness, and when he lifted his head to sniff the air, and yawn disinterestedly, his mouth opened to reveal a glinting set of wicked sharp teeth.
Sirius whined again, and nudged me, and I realised I was shaking. I was safe for now, I was not human. I kept that thought around my head, repeatedly. I tucked myself into Sirius' protective stance, fitting demurely under his tummy. Remus lifted his head and regarded us, but stopped when he saw James. He stood and slashed a paw out, and James cried out. It was the scariest sound ever, and suddenly my snout burned. The smell entered my nostrils and I couldn't get it out. Metal. Copper. Blood. I whipped around to face James, whose side was bleeding, and skittered to his side. Peter slipped under the broken cabinet in the corner for shelter, while Sirius – either brave, or stupid – was facing off against Remus. James lay on the floor as I put my little paw on his nose, face to face to keep him alert. Don't you dare go to sleep!
I could hear the growling twofold. Remus was growling at Sirius, but Sirius was snarling. His shoulders were hunched, making him look larger, his hackles raised, top lip curled back over his teeth, the feral noise tearing through the silence of the night like a chainsaw, as he stood, back to James and I, facing our friend. Our Remus. Remus stood back, before letting out a soft bark, and pushing Sirius back, the pair rolling, and I yipped in fright, turning back to James who rolled his eyes!
If I had hands I would be smacking you! Why are you rolling your eyes?
As if sensing my question, he tipped his head again, and I turned to look at them. Sirius and Remus were play-fighting.
I huffed and nudged James who began to move again, and I eyed Sirius, willing him to stay there and occupy Remus. He barked once and turned to face Remus, while I helped ease James from the room. The door shut almost immediately behind us, and within minutes, James was literally falling through the trap door, and I tugged it shut and charmed it stuck for good measure, before turning to see a shaking, fifteen-year-old boy in front of me. I knelt before him, cupping his cheek. He looked at me and grinned, although he was trembling. I pulled a phial of Dittany from my bag, and lifted his shirt to add the herb. Soon enough, his wounds were knitting back together, and I offered him a blood-replenishing potion I had pinched from the Hospital Wing, before I removed the charm from the trapdoor and allowed James to follow me back into the room. Within moments, he and I were clambering up the stairs, on all eight legs, and I scratched at the door to be let in again.
The night ended on a high, in our collective opinion. Remus seemed more of himself than we had ever seen him, and this strengthened a bond that would be almost unbreakable for us. After stumbling back into Hogwarts, just in time for breakfast, and before Pomfrey went to collect Remus, the four of us sat slumped at the Gryffindor table, trying to shove food into us, before we attempted to go to lessons.
"Can I check it again before Charms, Prongs?" I asked him, referring to the scratch. It honestly scared me more than I can imagine, the thought of losing him – he's like the brother I never had. James merely leaned on my shoulder and yawned, the scrambled egg he'd placed there moments earlier falling from his wide open trap onto my skirt.
"ARSEHOLE!" I yelled, giving him a thump, but he was obviously, deeply asleep.
"10 points from Gryffindor for your language, Fletcher," McGonagall called on her way past. I waited for her to glide further before muttering a soft "bollocks," causing her to whip around swiftly, and pin me with one of her withering scowls. I froze, my body rigid, while Sirius practically pissed himself into his corn flakes.
He was silenced by the arrival of the Fletcher Family Owl Vesuvius delivering a letter for me. I read it, and lost my appetite completely.
My Daughter,
My wish for you has been granted, and you will do our family proud. You will be the finest creature He has seen, when we present you in August.
Father
I stuffed the note venomously into my bag and slid from my seat, moving to the nearest girls' bathroom to empty my stomach. I did not feel well. Charms blew by – it shows how well we were doing if James, Sirius and I could half-sleep through a lesson and still be top of the class without even practicing or knowing what on earth was going on.
The girls from most houses and years were whispering rather twitteringly today, and I wondered what had gotten them into such a tizzy, when I felt my stomach twist uncomfortably again. I rushed to a bathroom and barricaded myself into a stall, the stress of my father's letter causing me to once again empty my stomach into a toilet. The door had opened and in came some of the idiotic girls who were whispering earlier.
Well.
They thought I was preggers. I almost died. I was stressed about Remus, about James' injury and definitely about the letter my father had sent, but they assumed I had shagged Sirius, and was pregnant. HAH!
I was about to confront them when one burst into tears. "What's the matter, Serena?" her friend asked. I positioned myself conveniently to hear every exhale. Serena Mina was a Ravenclaw sixth year, and she was gorgeous. I wondered which dick-bloke had broken her little heart this time. She was nearing six feet of willowy gracefulness and she was a duelling champion to boot, with tanned skin and flowing raven locks, any man stupid enough to cheat on her was an idiot.
"He's obviously gone off me now if he's shagged her!" she wailed.
I froze.
She couldn't mean Sirius. I mean, it was impossible, right? I felt the blood leave my face, and a bought of trembling overcame me, and I silently put the lid of the toilet down and perched myself upon it. After all we had been through; the domestic abuse, the torment, the mutual understanding of each other, the pact, the friendship, the fake-courting, did I mean so little to him?
Was I just a joke to him?
I felt my bruised heart start to split at the seams. This was too much. I was going to meet with the Dark Lord soon, I had no way of avoiding that. My friendship with Lils was suffering because I was with the boys all the time, Remus was going to be furious with us when he sees us for the first time after his transformation, because although it was all fabulous, he could have been so much more dangerous, and now the person I had trusted the most – the one person I trusted my whole heart and soul to – had cut me out, and hurt me worse than any other.
With a bang, I burst through the cubicle door, and ignoring the indignant squawks of the other girls, I stormed past them back to the hall. I found them where I assumed they would be. Flicking peas from the lunch-spread over to the Slytherins. I approached, and Sirius turned to greet me when I slapped him full force on the face with a crack that silenced the room. Staff and students alike stared at me, while I am pretty sure I almost had the ability to spit poison I was so livid.
"What the fuck, A.J.?" Sirius demanded, half standing. I shoved him roughly back into his seat, before taking the goblin-wrought silver ring from my finger and slamming it on the table in front of him.
"I thought you were so much more than this!" I hissed, pointing to the item now laying sadly on the table, between the salt and the gravy boat. I glanced up to see James' confusion. "This is happening because you had to go off and be a Black! Your mother would be so bloody proud!" I scathed. I turned to James and viciously stated "He's been shagging Serena Mina behind my back." Before storming from the room.