Chapter 8. The Transformation
All morning Remus wandered around the castle looking for a quiet place to hide and read. Being alone was certainly not a problem, in fact he was used to it, but strangely at that moment he didn't want to be.
I should have stayed in the Great Hall. Or I should have brought the others.
A sense of guilt assailed him: he regretted how cold he had been towards the guys, when they had been so nice to him. If it weren't for the influence of the moon, on a normal occasion, he would never have behaved that way… but unfortunately that wasn't the case.
He hid in a recess he found between two walls in the third floor corridor and read for practically all day. Every so often he got up to stretch his legs and strolled aimlessly. He had decided that he would skip lunch - he had eaten a lot at breakfast - and would have dinner directly once at McGonagall's. He would avoid the others all day. And he preferred that way, at least he didn't risk treating them badly .. they didn't deserve it.
5pm arrived earlier than expected. He knocked on the door of the classroom and a voice told him to enter. Inside the classroom were McGonagall and at her side a small plump woman who smiled kindly at the boy.
"Mr. Lupin, good afternoon. She is Professor Sprout, Professor of Herbology. Tomorrow morning she will come to pick you up… "
" Hi… "Remus smiled embarrassed.
"Well, take a seat at one of the desks and make yourself comfortable. Your dinner should arrive in a few minutes. In the meantime we will leave it here and will be back soon. " the woman said. Remus nodded and soon they both left.
Suddenly so many trays appeared. A whole dinner had appeared out of nowhere on the counter in front of him. He looked around in confusion, saw that no one was there, shrugged and ate everything within 10 minutes - he was very hungry - and then, after finishing everything, he went back to reading.
After about an hour the two teachers returned with a wicker basket: inside there were blankets, an empty pitcher and a uniform.
"You will need these things. We will fill the pitcher with water once we get there, in case you are thirsty; the blanket in case you are cold and a uniform because during the transformation yours will be practically destroyed. " explained the professor.
"Perfect." Remus said.
It was now 6.30pm when McGonagall said it was time to go. They said goodbye to Sprout and began to walk.
They left the classroom, went down to the first floor and, making a path that avoided passing the Great Hall, ended up in a part of the garden that Remus did not know. In the distance a large weeping willow could be seen.
"That's the Whomping Willow." stated the professor.
Once they were close to the tree, the branches began to move violently. Remus opened his eyes wide in fear.
"Fascinating, isn't it?"
"Professor, where is the entrance?" he asked worriedly.
"There, my dear." the woman pointed at the trunk with her finger. The boy was confused, but then he looked closer and saw that there was indeed a large entrance at the base of the trunk.
How could we ever get there without getting killed?
"What?" he asked, almost screaming.
McGonagall smiled reassuringly and then transformed into a cat. Remus was speechless. With wide eyes he watched the teacher - or rather, the cat - move away from him and pass through the angry branches without any problem: she nimbly dodged all attacks and then, with her paws, began to gently scratch on a knot that protruded from the rest of the roots. The tree stopped shaking.
What just happened?
Thrilled by what he had just seen, he followed the cat into the entrance between the roots without speaking. A dark and infinite corridor opened before them and they began to walk. Several blue flame torches had been placed on the walls to slightly illuminate the path. After more than five minutes, the feline transformed again into Professor McGonagall who nonchalantly said: "We're almost there."
At one point they opened a door, climbed the stairs and found themselves in a large dirty and poorly maintained room.
"Here we are .. So, now I'm going to put bars on the door we came from that only magic can break through, so you don't get out. As you can see, every exit route has already been barred and many protection spells have been made around the entire perimeter. The place is very safe. There is a sofa where you can relax and blankets if you are cold. That's all… "the woman said looking at the boy with a worried look. "Are you okay, dear?" she asked.
"Um, yes. I think .. "he answered insecure.
"I'll go then. Professor Sprout will be here at dawn. And if you ever need anything tomorrow, feel free to come and find me .. Goodbye. "
And he was left alone. He looked around curious and even scared: that place was ugly, worn out and left to itself .. a bit like he felt at that moment.
Remus was dozing when a thick throbbing struck him in the left temple. He woke up and, sitting on the bed, began to scream. Slowly and excruciatingly the pain began to spread all over the body. He stood shaking and as he continued to writhe in pain, he screamed again. His figure began to change: his back hunched, his chest and arms spread, his legs took on a strange and unusual S-shape, his feet became paws, his face stretched to become a muzzle, the skin filled with long thick gray hairs, the hands grew larger and the nails become long and black. That phase of shouting and change lasted a long time, about an hour; but that didn't surprise either Remus or the wolf… it had always been a long and painful process!
Then when the transformation was complete, the wolf began to fidget. He sensed that he had been locked up alone and this made him mad and so - frustrated, sad and angry - he began to hurt himself: he scratched and bitten himself and tried over and over again to escape by bumping into the walls, against the wooden planks placed on the windows and against the bars.
This situation continued uninterrupted throughout the night and stopped once the sun rose. The wolf, now tired, staggered around the room to the bed and fell asleep and in the peace of sleep went away, to make room for the frail boy who, naked and crouching on himself, was crying.
It had been a hideous transformation, one of the ugliest and most difficult of his life.
He opened his eyes and saw that he wasn't in his room. This he understood thanks to the ceiling: the one in the dorms was made of wood while what he was staring at at that moment was a simple white wall. He was lying down and had soft yellow curtains around his bed that didn't allow him to see anything. He felt confused.
Where am I and why am I here?
"Hello dear." said a woman who came to Remus' right. "How do you feel?" she asked, smiling gently.
"Excuse me .. but where am I?" he ignored the woman.
"You're in the infirmary and I'm Madam Pomfrey, the curator of Hogwarts." she answered politely.
"What am I doing here?"
"You passed out while Professor Sprout was taking you back to the Castle, so she brought you here… and she did well! You needed sleep and your wounds needed to be healed. "
Remus just nodded. His gaze was lost in the void.
Why did I faint? It has never happened to me ..
"Now that you are awake I can finally get you a potion that will help you both to heal the scars sooner and to make you feel better .. a nice energizer!" the woman said handing Remus a large glass with an orange liquid in it. He drank all the contents - very bitter and slightly orange-flavored - and made a disgusted face.
"Oh, I know! It's not good at all, but you will see that you will immediately feel like a new person! "
The moment Madam Pomfrey said those words, Remus really began to feel better: the pains from the beating almost vanished, the scratches burned less and he felt awake and full of energy, so much so that he decided to get up. But he was stopped by the curator.
"Easy ... first you have to remain seated for a few more minutes and then, if you want, you are free to go."
"Ok." the boy said, obeying.
Five minutes later the woman told him he could get up.
"On the chair in the bathroom there are your uniform and some towels .. remember that before going out I have to give you some things."
Still a little sore, he reached the bathroom. He washed briefly in the small shower in a corner of the room and then, still wet and shirtless, he stared at his reflection in the mirror: the dark circles were a constant presence, but all those scratches on his chest and shoulders weren't. He looked at himself and surrendered, he dressed, trying not to think about it. Fortunately, with the uniform most of the wounds were not even visible. He would always keep his sleeves down and never change in public.
It's not an impossible feat, I can do it!
He left the bathroom and Madam Pomfrey joined him with a small purple bag.
"Here is everything you need for the cuts. For a few days you will have to be patient and cure them .. you must first clean the area well with this red jar, then apply two fingers of this cream and finally cover them well with these patches. Don't worry, they'll get bigger based on the cut, okay? Obviously if you need you know where to find me. Well, I'd say you can go. " the woman smiled and pointed to the door.
Remus took the purple bag, smiled back at the woman, and walked out.