The Marauders: In the Beginning
Chapter Nine: When the Full Moon Rises
Disclaimer: Anything and everything from the Harry Potter books is property of J. K. Rowling. This is purely fan work.
A/N: I hope this chapter doesn't seem too dull, or slow-moving... I just left off at a bad spot and there's a bit of explaining to do before I can really carry on with the storyline! Hope you enjoy it, and as always - *smiling sweetly* - read and review! ^_^;;
The three boys sat frozen in their seats as Peter slowly rose from the sofa. He stood beside it, twitching nervously and looking every bit as shocked as they did.
Sirius quickly came to his senses. "It's nothing, Peter," he covered. "You don't know what you heard--"
"Don't know what I heard?" muttered Peter, staring back suspiciously. "I think I do."
"No," Remus pleaded. "Please... you've misunderstood..."
"Oh, so James and Sirius aren't trying to master advanced transfiguration then?" Seeing the questioning looks on the others' faces, he went on. "I-I'm tired of other people telling me to mind my own business," he stuttered. He had to struggle to keep his voice steady, but his beady eyes were defiant. "I came back here after talking to Professor Toadstool. It's not my fault I just happened to overhear. Whatever it is you're doing, I don't like the sound of it, not a bit - and I'll... I'll..."
No! he thought. Why now? Why did his voice choose that particular moment to falter? Why did his mind go blank then and there? He knew he had to do something - he had to do the right thing, but something was stopping him. He just wasn't strong enough.
"You'll what? Tell the headmaster?" Sirius almost smirked at this, but Remus and James exchanged worried glances. Peter stood before them, looking at the floor, still mumbling. "I'll... I'll..."
"What do we do know?" whispered James to his friends, horrified. This definetly had not been part of their ingenious plan.
Remus squeezed his eyes shut, hoping he was doing the right thing. He took a deep breath. "Now, Peter, listen - you've got it all wrong. You have to understand." Peter looked up uncertainly, meeting Remus' soft gray eyes. Remus tried to think of the right thing to say, but couldn't quite seem to reach it. He bit his lower lip, a slight queasy feeling in his stomach, as he thought.
Finally, he uttered in a barely-audible whisper, his eyes like cold, icy stone: "...can you keep a secret?"
"Maybe you had better sit down," said James, catching on. Peter winced. "Er... this is... really bad, isn't it?"
"No, Peter, not if you don't say anything about it," said Remus urgently. There wasn't anything else that needed to be said, and Peter didn't need to be told twice. He sat down in a chair nearer to those of his classmates, his gaze fixed upon Remus as the boy began to recount his sorrowful tale. Remus reached what was, for him, a very terrifying part of the story.
"...and, you see, I was so young - I couldn't find my way back out of the forest. I called out to my parents, but I was too far off. They couldn't hear me. I remember being chased by what looked to me like a rather large wild dog." Remus shuddered. "It was just too fast for me. I stumbled and fell, and the next thing I knew, I was... well, see, I was..."
"Y-You were what?" asked Peter fearfully, bracing himself for the answer.
Remus sighed. "Next thing I knew, it had caught up to me. There was this pain, pain like I've never felt" - he lifted an arm to his left shoulder - "it had bitten me, about here, blood everywhere, pain shooting down my arm..." He winced and went incredibly pale, his eyes brimming with deep sadness and ache. The scars were nothing to Remus' bitter memories of the past. He hated to relive them, felt like crawling under a rock, felt like just closing his eyes and shutting out the rest of the world. He had been deprived of a fair chance at life, at love, at success. He'd never know what it was like.
Remus' stormy eyes flashed. His voice was softer, more distant, as he resumed telling his story. "It would have more than just bitten me, too," he said, "if it weren't for my father. He'd been following my voice, trying to catch up with me, and as soon as he saw what was happening, he managed to hit the beast with quite a powerful curse - didn't kill it, but distracted it, and it was hurt just bad enough. It ran off and left me there, bleeding." He grimaced. "Yes, it would have more than just bitten me. I have no doubt in my mind it would have killed me, without hesitation. But the bite was enough."
Peter shifted uncomfortably in his seat, breathing more rapidly than usual. "...Enough?" he sputtered, his voice full of fear.
"Yes," Remus nodded. "I was bitten by a werewolf, Peter."
Peter sat bolt upright, not moving a muscle.
"Oh," he squeaked. "A werewolf. Is that all?" And with that, his eyes rolled back in his head, he leaned forward out of his seat, and collapsed in a heap on the floor. He was out cold.
"Er... so," said Sirius, breaking the tense silence. "I think he took it rather well. Don't you?"
Peter woke up to cold water being splashed on his face. He opened one eye and looked up. A stream of the water trickled down from James' wand, a trick he had learned in Charms that week. He grinned when the charm worked successfully, but it was a nervous sort of grin.
Remus helped Peter to his feet. "You fainted," he stated as Peter rubbed his eyes, looking disoriented. Suddenly he stared at Remus as if he had just noticed his classmates' presence, and began to back away. "It... it's true, then?" he breathed. "I mean... did I really lose it when I blacked out, or... did you just tell me you're a--"
"A werewolf," Remus finished. Peter looked ready to faint again.
"Nope!" Sirius grunted, rushing to Peter's side and helping Remus hold him up by the arms. "You've got to stay with us this time. You can't keep fainting like that."
They brought him over to his chair again and set him down, as his limbs didn't seem to want to work. "Peter," said James. "Do you remember what we--"
"I remember," said Peter quietly, averting his gaze. He seemed to be weighing his options. Remus hoped he hadn't made a mistake in telling him, and silently wished he hadn't, but then again... Peter just didn't seem the type to let him down. All James and Sirius knew about him was that he was usually a little nervous, but all around a nice guy. He'd talked to them on the Hogwarts Express.
"Is it... safe... when you transform?" Peter questioned, still looking down at the floor. "No," replied Remus. "But Dumbledore and I have it all worked out. No one else even needs to worry about it, as long as I am where I'm supposed to be when the full moon rises." Peter looked confused, but said nothing. Suddenly, he remembered something else he had heard.
"Why do you two want to learn to turn into animals?" he asked, looking up and nodding at James and Sirius.
"It's this thing we read about," said Sirius, trying to reveal just enough while not telling everything. There would be time for that later. Maybe. As long as Peter kept his word... "We... er, it has to do with Remus... werewolves won't attack animals, just people, and, er..."
"You're going to try and be with him when he's in his werewolf form?"
The other three were taken aback. Peter almost smiled at his cleverness.
"Yes," James murmured. "But you have to promise you aren't going to tell. You have to give your word, Peter." He needed to end dramatically. What to say? "...'cause, you know - lives depend on it." It wasn't a threat, but a desperate plea. "Please, Peter. We need you to keep this to yourself. Can we trust you?"
After some time, Peter nodded wearily. He glanced at Remus, James, and Sirius as he answered. "...I won't tell anyone."
