The advantage of having the moon on a weekend, meant that they could spend their day shuttling supplies back and forth from the castle to the grounds and no one suspected anything. They were a little under a month and a half away from their final examinations, and they had gotten little to no studying time in, unless you count their knowledge of minor demons and the practical uses of brimstone. The Shrieking Shack had been meticulously prepared, and Lily, an aspiring Healer, had prepped James and Sirius on everything they needed to do once Moony had bitten Gabby. It was going to be a hard to watch affair, she had warned, and they were probably going to regret their decision a couple of hundred times during the night. The important part was that they had to continuously watch the wound, make sure it was clean and make sure to keep all her vital signs normal until it was safe for her to enter the Shack in the morning. They had nodded, a little out of their depth, but vowed to keep Gabriela safe until the fall of the moon.
Remus had spent little time preparing. He didn't really want to think about their friend's ludicrous venture of sneaking her out of her bed, and into the shack so he could, in short, attack her. That, coupled with Sirius' plan of the less you know, the more you can deny had left him relatively in the dark about how the front end of the operation was going to unfold. Instead, he sat at her bedside, watching the tattoo in the crook of her elbow move with the moon. She really did look like she was on the decline. Her eyes were circled in black rings, her skin was pasty and sunken. He had brushed her hair earlier that morning, trying to rid it of the knots and tangles it had acquired from when she was moved to other beds, and even that wasn't its usual silky texture. She wouldn't want to live like this, he thought. Not when she had always been such a pistol.
"Mister Lupin," the nurse's voice startled him from his thoughts and he looked up at her with a watery smile. "Isn't about time you got to wherever you need to be?"
"Yeah, I…er… wanted to spend a few more minutes with her. Makes me feel better, you know." The nurse smiled sympathetically, allowing him an extra minute before tutting him off and locking the doors to the infirmary, not knowing that Sirius, with Peter as Wormtail in his shirt pocket, were hiding under James' invisibility cloak, ready to steal her patient away.
When Sirius and Peter shuffled into the trapdoor of the Shrieking Shack the moon was already high in the sky. They hoped that the werewolf had learned enough manners not to immediately attack them in their human forms when they sauntered in. He had been very good in previous moons, allowing them to move about the cottage as humans without too much grief, but now that they were carrying in someone he loved, they weren't so sure of his reaction. The pair yelped when something came in their direction as soon as the hatch opened, thankful that it was just the old quaffle that they tossed around to play, and that the wolf was patiently waiting a few metres away, on the floor, all fours splayed out beside him.
"Hey, Moony. We brought you someone, alright?" Sirius pulled himself up the hatch, reaching down to where Peter was handing him Gabriela's frail body, looking more like ragdoll than human. "She's very sick so I need you to be extra gentle, OK?" He approached, somewhat reluctantly, towards the wolf, noting, much to his relief, that he made no noise or intention to move when he encroached on his personal space.
Sirius placed Gabriela down, watching as the ever-curious beast crawled forward on his belly and pushed her hand with his muzzle, fully intending to get a pat from the girl. He whined when she didn't move. James, turning back from his stag form, took a seat near the pair, trying to look as submissive as he possibly could to avoid the wolf's temper. "Moony, we need you to help her. She's very sick, and the only way for her to get better is… is for you… to bite her." The wolf looked confused, his ears pulled back in stress. He was pretty sure bite was one of the few things this particular human had told him not to do. He wasn't intending on disobeying her now. "We wouldn't be asking if it weren't really important! When have we ever lied to you?" The wolf harrumphed in a sassy fashion, turning his head away from them, focusing solely on the tips of Gabby's fingers and nudging them with his head. "Oh, come on! We only just convinced the other you to do this. Don't tell me we have to deal with you, too," he exclaimed, frustrated.
"What if we wake her?" Sirius suggested, to which James looked dangerously close to an aneurysm. "Look, we've wasted a lot of moonlight. We need this done quickly, and the only person convincing that wolf to break the rules, it is the person who made the rules."
James debated the harm of pulling her out of stasis, if they succeeded, finding that it was better than the alternative—failing at their quest. He took his wand out of his pocket, waving intricate patterns above her and muttered, "Reanimatum."
Gabriela blinked awake, though her body was shaking, as if she was still in severe pain. She took in her surroundings, noticing that she was in the Shack. "Did you do it? Did he bite me?"
"Er… no, we're having a shy performer," Sirius replied, pointing at Moony, who though was still looking in an opposite direction, had perked up his ears and was looking at his friend out of the corner of his eye.
"Hey, love. C'mere. It's alright." She whispered, softly, watching as the wolf turned its head towards her and with a strangled whine pressed his face against hers. "I know, I know. It's confusing. Mister Moony, I really need your help. I know I told you it was naughty, but I am specifically asking for it. I give you permission, and I promise I will not be cross with you and I promise that nothing bad is going to happen, OK?" She doubled over on her side, pain wracking her body and making it arch involuntarily. "I don't mean to rush you, but I might need it sooner than later." Her nails left trails on the wooden floorboards as she tried to deflect the pain. Moony howled, his ears pulled back once more as he seemingly debated the consequences of his actions.
"I swear to fucking Merlin, Remus, you either help him make a goddamn decision or I will personally make you responsible when she dies!" James screamed, red in the face, startling the wolf, though there was a flash of amber in the beast's eyes as he shuffled backwards. The wolf sighed, huffing a great breath preparing himself to move. With great care, he pushed the top of the hospital gown away from her skin, though to little avail. James, moved, careful not to incite an attack on himself, and stared the beast straight in the eyes when he muttered, "Let me help you."
With shaking fingers, he loosened the knot at the neck of the gown and pulled it down past her shoulders. For the first time the friends looked at the angry red skin surrounding the base of her wings, as if she had an eternal third degree burn on her shoulder blades. The bases jutted out, a bit like a bat's wing, before it finished in the thousands of inky black feathers that, rather than being soft and flexible, like down, were sharp and coarse. The beast's maw opened and seemingly swallowed up the small girl's shoulder, and he whined in the position, not wanting to bite down and let teeth pierce flesh. Gabriela raised her hand and brushed the fur on his neck in an affectionate manner, quietly assuring him that everything was going to be fine. In one movement, his jaw locked, Gabriela screamed, and the atmosphere in the room tensed considerably.
Almost as soon as he had done it, Moony had let go of her shoulder as if a shock had coursed through his body. He licked the wounds with great care, all the while whining miserably, and trying to placate the shrieks of pain coming from his friend. Sirius moved forward, not thinking for a second of the animal's protective stance when he went to scoop her up. "I need to take her!" He hissed, in an aggressive voice, one that made the wolf back up considerably, before he took Gabby into the bedroom where the makeshift hospital was set up, James close behind.
"This isn't bad. You did great," Peter said, meekly, as the great wolf stared dejectedly at the room. "I know it doesn't sound brilliant, but I assure you, she's going to be fine." Just as he said this, Gabriela's screams intensified, filling the shack with the haunting sounds of a woman being tortured by her own body. With a quick flick of his wand, he conjured a pair of earmuffs and gently placed them on the wolf's head. "There you go. You don't need to hear that, do you?"
James' hands were nimble with the bandages, while Sirius was particularly gifted in mixing the cleansing potions required to sterilize the area. In seconds, they had the whole wound cleaned and covered, although the real pain came from the werewolf's curse coursing through her veins. At this point, Gabby was sobbing, her chest not getting enough air before the next cry racked through her body with a vengeance. Sirius had noted, however, that the circles around her eyes were lightening, and there was color in her cheeks. Whether that be because of the constant screaming or something positive happening, he didn't know. However, any further assessment was cut short, when a flash of blinding light, and a boom, knocked them both a good ten feet outside of the room, crashing onto the hardwood floor.
The two groaned. Sirius was sure that he had a broken rib, and James was quite certain he had broken his nose in the crash. Peter, alarmed, scrambled to his feet into the bedroom. A blast like that was not good news for their resident Ravenclaw. When he peered into the room, it looked no different than when Moony had a go it, disheveled, several parts broken, although it was a bit more singed than usual. He paced nervously towards the figure lying in bed, quiet and still. He was relieved when he saw that she was breathing, though she was covered in soot and grime. Moony sidled up to him, earmuffs still in place to assess the damage. Braver than he, the werewolf hopped onto the bed, nudging the girl with his muzzle gently. One particular movement shifted one of her wings, the feathers falling and becoming nothing more than ash on the bedspread. Now desperate, the wolf began pushing and shoving at his friend, watching as the wings withered to nothing more than dust, though angry red marks remained on her back.
He whined at Peter, willing him to do something. "She's OK, Mister Moony. Let's let her rest and check on the lads."
Near the dawn, the werewolf had slipped back into the bedroom after the boys had fallen asleep. They had mended themselves as best they could and waited for Lily to arrive in the morning to continue their treatment. With gentle movements he burrowed himself against her, giving her nose a solitary lick before he felt the pangs of morning calling him back to slumber. The jerking and screaming woke Gabriela, as it had all those months before. She watched through heavy eyelids as the wolf turned into man, tears springing in her eyes at his pain. When she laid a gentle hand on him, she was sure that he smiled a wolfish grin.
Remus panted, face down on the bed, pushing himself up with all his might, surprised to see green eyes staring back at him. A choked sob got caught in his chest, and immediately shuffled towards her, pulling her into his arms and mumbling incoherent thoughts into her ear. "You did it," she whispered, her voice nearly gone from all the screaming. "I saw it. It was you who did it. You spared him the decision."
"Let the mutt retain whatever innocence he has." He whispered back, pressing his forehead against hers. His fingers carded through the dark locks of hair, surprised tinting his expression when they came back with soot, revealing light brown tresses beneath. With a chuckle, he shook out her hair, watching at the dark dust fell, sullying the rest of the sheets and making them both cough.
Quick steps interrupted them, Lily bursting into the room only to yelp and turn around with a groan. "Jesus, almighty! Remus, put on some damn trousers. I swear," she chided, seemingly unbothered by the unkempt state of the rest of the shack.
"Sorry, Lily. Too distracted by a girlfriend with a pulse. I do apologize," he commented sarcastically, pressing a kiss to Gabby's lips and giving her an exasperated look before grabbing the pile of clothes on the chair (though covered in ash) and went outside to pull them on.
"Good morning, doll. How are you feeling?" The redhead asked, ignoring Remus' sassy retort.
"Like a very large wall fell on me." She replied, letting Lily look at James and Sirius' handiwork on her shoulder.
"The wound looks exceptionally great. Which is… odd. Because it's a cursed bite." Her face darkened in a frown at the unexpected result.
Gabby grinned to the best of her capacity. "Not actually turned, I'm afraid. Can you imagine Remus' little face if it turned out he made me into a werewolf? It'd be heartbreaking."
"You were awake for six hours! How did you run through so much information!?" Lily was truly alarmed how the girl could have concocted such an excellent plan and perfectly execute it, having left only breadcrumbs to follow.
"I'm a fast reader." She shrugged. "I also know a looot about werewolves." With wide eyes, Gabby froze, her mouth gaping open at the vision over Lily's shoulder. "Oh, no."
"Oh, yes." An irate Minerva McGonagall was standing in the threshold of the bedroom, Sirius, James, Peter and Remus in a close tow.