Full Moon (Chapter 10)
Katie looked up from her cauldron as Remus entered the shop. She smiled warmly at him and motioned for him to join her in the back room. Following her, Remus was surprised at how nervous he was. This would either be a breakthrough…or a major disappointment.
As he entered the back room, Katie had her
back to him, pouring the mixture into a goblet. She turned around and met his
eyes before offering him the potion.
"It took me forever to get it right, but I
think I finally managed."
She had worked all day yesterday on it. It was her intention to take the potion over
to Remus' house last night for dinner, but it had failed. Instead of smoking normally, it had boiled
away and ruined one of her cauldrons. Katie had apologized numerous times over dinner, but Remus had merely
said that he didn't mind at all and was thankful she was even willing to
help. But of course she was willing to
help…that was Katie.
Remus, put the goblet up to his nose, sniffed
at the liquid and drew back quickly. Katie gave a small half-hearted laugh and
nodded.
"I know. It
stinks to high heaven, but I'm reasonably certain it's supposed to smell like
that," she frowned.
"It's revolting." Remus looked into the goblet with disgust.
"Well, I tried to use sugar, thinking it
would help the taste, but when I added it the potion turned a violent green
color. I think the wolfsbane root and
the sugar cane have a negative effect on each other. Apparently, sugar might make it taste better, but it would also
make it useless." She looked up at him
regretfully.
Remus sighed. Seeing Katie look at him like that broke his heart. She was feeling sorry for him and that was
the last thing he wanted. Why had he
ever told her the potion was for him? Why had he ever told her abut the wolf? WHY?
Because she means the world to you, you
twit…so just down the potion and get this over with!
"Have you tasted it?" he asked her out of
curiosity.
"No," she replied. "It's a very strong mixture and from what I can tell…" she paused
and looked down at her feet, "it would put me…or any normal human…right to
sleep." Her voice had gone very soft
when she mentioned the human bit, not wanting to upset Remus. It did upset him, however he wasn't willing
to let Katie see that.
Normal human….
"Well, then. I guess the only way to find out if it tastes as badly as it
smells is to try it." He lifted the
goblet up and said, "Cheers."
Pressing the goblet
to his lips, he downed the potion as fast as he could, trying to ignore the
disgusting taste of it. It burned his
throat as it slid down into his gut. He
could feel the sting of the wolfsbane, an ingredient that could kill him if
taken in large doses. He swallowed hard
as the last drops of potion passed over his tongue. His eyes were shut tightly and he knew he was making a wretched
face.
Blinking away the awful flavor of the
potion, Remus looked at Katie again. She had covered her mouth with her hands and was watching him very
cautiously. He smacked at his lips with
his tongue, trying to get the taste out of his mouth, but to no avail.
"So?"
"It tastes worse than it smells, but
then…it's probably worse for me."
"What do you mean?"
"You see, my senses are heightened by the
wolf."
"Ah," was all she said, and her eyes fell to
the floor again.
There were things to be learned from his experiences with the potion as well. For the first time, he could think as himself while in the wolf form. It didn't stop his thoughts from running wild, but he could reason them out. Sometimes when he was feeling overly anxious the wolf would become more like the animal that it was and Remus would have to force himself to stay calm. But at least he was able to control himself now some what…control the urge to hunt and kill.
Tonight was going
to be one of those nights when the wolf would be exceptionally restless. Remus could feel it pulsating through
him. The harder he fought to push back
his anger, the more the wolf wanted to express it. And it was all because of Sirius.
The break in and
the knowledge that Remus had concerning Sirius' animagus form was eating away
at him. He was so angry at Sirius, not
only for breaking into Hogwarts, but also for the damage he had done to
everyone's lives. Remus knew that the
wolf would want out tonight, and no matter how much of the potion he would
drink, the wolf would most likely become violent. The potion allowed him to think, but it didn't stop the wolf
entirely.
Slipping out of the
castle and down to the Whomping Willow, Remus returned to the one place he had
avoided since his school days. It was
the one place he was certain to be safe, no matter what happened. The one place that he could go and know for
a fact that he wouldn't hurt anyone.
The Shrieking
Shack.
He hadn't been here
in years, but he would never forget this place. He glanced around at the ruined walls and broken furniture with
grief. He had done all this damage a
long time ago. How much more damage would
he do tonight?
He walked from room
to room, making sure the house was still secure; locking all the doors and
solidifying the windows that had cracks in them. All was in order. But he
still wandered from room to room.
It always starts
with pacing.
And wild
thoughts.
How did Sirius
get out of Azkaban?
What kind of
dark magic was he using?
It had to be
something that didn't require a wand…but what was it?
Think
Remus! You're supposed to be the Defense
Against the Dark Arts expert! You
should know this!
The pull of the moon had started as moonlight stretched its fingers through the cracks in the boards covering the windows. Remus felt himself shaking. His limbs began to tense up rigidly.
Dark magic…
It HAS to be
dark magic.
Sirius…why?
He fell to the floor on all fours as his back arched upwards. The pain of the transformation hit him with full force. He grabbed at his stomach feeling as if he might wretch. The frustration he was feeling turned to real anger that Sirius had ever brought this upon them.
His face contorted
and lengthened slowly as he felt the hair begin to prick at his arms and legs
and back.
He tried to grip at the tattered rug with his hands, but all he could do was scrape with his paws. The wolf threw back its head and with a mighty howl expressed the anger Remus had been suppressing.
Free….
He ran to the other side of the room and back, searching for a way out of the house. The wolf wanted to hunt and he certainly knew who the intended prey would be.
This upset the wolf even more, for the wolf had better senses than Remus. He would be able to track down Sirius in a heartbeat. But if he found Sirius, then what would he do? Kill him?
Remus, you've never hurt another human being in your whole life! You are NOT going to start now! Besides, if there is one person who knows how to defend himself against the wolf, it's Sirius Black…or Padfoot rather.
Running from room to room, the wolf knocked over a chair and tore at the leg of it, biting and knowing in frustration at his predicament.
Let me at him! Never
hurt anyone else! Attack him…stop him!
The wolf spat out the wood chunks and made a choking noise as some bits lodged in his throat.
The wolf threw himself at the wall and a yelp in agony. He tried again, but to no avail. Once more, and still nothing.
ATTACK PADFOOT! Hurt Prongs and Wormtail…hurt Padfoot….
Now clawing at the already torn walls, Remus tried as he could to stay clam, but the wolf was in control…and it was going to be a long night.
***
Sunlight fell across his face as Remus slowly opened his eyes. He was lying on the floor, cold and aching head to foot. He must have passed out at some point. He shook his head trying to clear his confused mind. Had he actually slept through a transformation? It had been a long time since that had happened. Only when he had badly hurt himself had he managed to sleep through the setting moon.
And after those
nights he was usually rescued by Sirius…but who would come now?
Pushing himself up
with stiff arms, he tried to stand. A
searing pain shot through his left arm and back. Grabbing at his shoulder, he realized he must have broken it
while throwing himself at the wall. Managing to finally stand, Remus surveyed the damaged. His knee was also aching and bleeding from a
deep cut. Touching a sore spot on his
head, he found a large welt forming at his temple. His could feel his pulse beating in his head as a headache
settled in. His stomach lurched from
the dizziness.
But he couldn't walk. He collapsed to the floor once again, wondering what that distant sound was? It sounded like footsteps?
He felt a hand brushing the hair out of his eyes and through blurred vision he could make out a white beard and a wrinkled face.
"Oh dear," the man
said. "I was afraid that something like
this might happen."
It was
Dumbledore. He had come to help…but how
did he even know? Remus didn't know
what was going on, but he knew he had to explain this somehow.
"Sirius…I kept
thinking about Sirius…"
Dumbledore pressed
a finger to his lips to quiet him down, But Remus had to tell him before it was
too late.
"He's…animal…he's….dog…"
"Yes, I see that
the wolf was not very tolerant last night. Not to worry, Madam Pomfrey will have you better in no time." He conjured a stretcher out of thin air.
Remus couldn't
believe it. Dumbledore thought he was
talking about the wolf? "No…Sirius…he…"
"Shhh. Rest." And with a wave of his hand over Remus' face, he caused Remus to drift
off into sleep.
