Okay boys- just a small little chapter today, but hey, it hasn't been so long since the last one and they have been pretty long recently so short and sweet might make a nice change. Anyway I'm hoping the brevity of this chapter will be partially made up for by the fact that for the first time since beginning this fic I have actually fully proof read every single line (not just used spell check or skimmed it to make sure it was passable as something vaguely resembling English). Aren't I good to you my dear readers, I know to the average person this is just standard procedure but to me this is one of my life's greatest achievements, I don't think I even ever proof read anything when I was doing my English GCSE! Anyway the downside of this is that if there are still spelling mistakes they are entirely fault and I cannot just blame it on the technology.

Disclaimer: if I was JK Rowling I would have a whole team of people just to proof read everything I write.

Please read and review!


He didn't know why he had said it, perhaps Sirius was right ad he just couldn't stand being in people's bad books. Ever since their argument he had been feeling so guilty around his friends he supposed he had been subconsciously searching for some way to make it up to them. And then there was what Sirius and James had said. He knew that they were great friends and good people but he had gotten into the habit of treating them how they acted in front of other people, like immature jokers. But the fact remained that in private, when he needed them to be, James and Sirius could be sensible, considerate and above all, calm and rational even when Remus himself wasn't. He felt bad that he never gave them any recognition for this, and perhaps if he did then it would encourage them to act like that in public as well, not just when they were alone with him an peter. That was what he told himself anyway, but that was just an excuse really, a thin veil that barely masked that old fear of his, the fear that if he did not show them that he trusted them they would eventually come to the conclusion that he was not to be trusted, that he was nothing but a filthy werewolf who just wanted to use them for his own devices. Friendship was a game of give and take and he had been doing far too much of the taking.

Peter was another story altogether, Remus knew Peter possessed more common sense than some people who got four times better grades than him in class. Remus would trust Peter alone with his life, with anyone's life. But he knew in his heart that Peter and he shared a great weakness. Peter, like him, would ultimately do anything to keep his friendship with James and Sirius, and that was why he, harsh as it sounded, never really came into it. That, and the fact that a rat wouldn't be much help in actually stopping him from biting an innocent passer-by. He felt bad for thinking about peter like that, just as he felt bad for treating James and Sirius like immature twerps. But this way he would be making it up to all of them. He was determined that tonight he would put his brave face on and let the others have some fun, they were sixteen after all, this was what they should be doing, not stuck in a tiny old shack trying to control a stir-crazy werewolf.

Nevertheless, he was nervous, he was trying to control his nerves by wordlessly justifying his decision over and over again but it wasn't working. He couldn't afford to have a bad transformation, not tonight, not if he was going to leave the shack. He focussed all his remaining energy on not feeling scared or nervous or any other emotion that would aggravate the wolf, but naturally this just exacerbated all these feelings. His stomach simply would not stop twisting itself in knots and his heart was beating so fast it felt as if it was trying to escape his ribcage.
"Are you alright Remus?" asked James, "you're very quiet."
"I'm fine," said Remus, adjusting himself on the bed in the Shrieking Shack.
"You think tonight's going to be a bad one don't you," said Peter in a rare moment of observation.
Remus shook his head.
"I'm sure it's nothing, I'm just nervous you know?"
"We'll make sure you've calmed down before we leave," said Sirius, "and if you're not calming down we won't leave at all."
"Thank you," said Remus, closing his eyes and laying back on his pillows.

It was okay, his friends wouldn't leave the Shack unless he was under control, but there was no sense in making it harder for them, he needed to relax. But he couldn't relax because his body was trembling with tension and sharp stabbing pains were piercing his bones.

"Guys, change," he said, opening his eyes.

The full moon hung high in the sky and four animals prowled along the edge of the lake. Seeing the silvery orb reflected in the water Remus gave an almighty howl, much to the amusement of James, Sirius and Peter. Remus shrank down in embarrassment at his momentary wolfish outburst, before noting pleasantly that embarrassment was a very human emotion. So long as he could feel embarrassed he was in control. Sirius saw the wolf hang it's head and walked towards it, then he walked right past it, right to the edge of the water, and flung his head back to howl at the moon too. The stag lurking in the shadows snorted, and the dog grinned as if to say 'you're just jealous you can't do it'. The stag gave a little nod of the head in the direction of the forest and the dog gave the wolf a little nudge in the side. The wolf stopped staring at the moon's quivering reflection and gnashed it's teeth at the dog, who had caught it entirely by surprise. Immediately though the wild look in its eyes vanished and a quiet sadness filled their infinite brown-black depths, it hung it's head again and looked up at the dog, as if trying to say in it's own way that it was sorry. The dog shook it's head and raised it's paw towards the stag, who was standing elegantly on the tree line, poised to dart off into the darkness. They heard a rustling of leaves on the ground and a little rat emerged from the shadows and scampered up the dog's leg, taking a seat between his strong shoulder blades and grabbing hold of two tiny fistfuls of fur. Peter had barely gotten himself settled before Remus took off excitedly after James and Sirius leapt up to follow them. With the wind rushing through his fur and his heart pumping adrenaline around his body Remus almost felt himself slipping again. He could smell that characteristic scent of humans on the stiff westerly wind and found himself veering off slightly in the direction from whence the tantalising smell came. He was intercepted however by a huge black dog. The wolf surveyed him for a moment, wondering whether he should just fight him and go after his prey, but no, said a voice in his head, that dog was Sirius. Sirius cocked his head to one side and Remus ducked his head again. The stag, which had stopped as well, approached the wolf and looked at it questioningly. Remus looked up again, trying to communicate that he was alright, the other three managed to communicate with one another so easily and sometimes Remus struggled to keep up, especially with James and Peter. The stag seemed to get the message though, for it nodded once and then took off once more into the night, followed by the wolf, rat and dog.