A/N: Okay, well, since you're here, I think I should tell you that this
story is A.) really really good and
B.) has a companion piece that you perhaps might want to read first . . .
it's called Giving In and it is by Miss Sara Diane, so yeah, read it too .
. . doesn't really matter what order, but technically this one comes
second. Oh yeah, if you like this story or Sara's story . . . WRITE A
REVIEW!!! PLEASE!!! WILL WORK FOR REVIEWS . . .
Madeleine screamed. The shriek pierced the blue-black room, louder even than the snarling coming from the left corner of the shack. She turned to run, but the arms of her best friend Amilye held her in place. Madeleine turned her tear-streaked face to Amilye, and protested against her friend's sturdy grip. Deep green eyes met crystal blue ones.
"Please, Amilye, I don't want to watch . . . I don't want to know . . ." Madeleine pleaded with her friend. Amilye's own eyes filled with tears, and she brought her friend into a hug.
"You need to know." She whispered in Madeleine's ear as she swiveled her distraught friend around to face her fears.
It was Potions class again. Madeleine used to despise Potions, but lately it hadn't been bad at all. She smiled a secret smile to herself, and stole a secret glance at the boy she had been seeing for some time now, Remus Lupin. Her smile broadened as she took in his beautiful form. He was, as usual, bent over his friend Peter's cauldron, adding and mixing to fix the mess bumbling Pettigrew had made. His muscular back was well defined under his thin robes, and Madeleine licked her lips thinking of his hard body, the smooth tan skin under her fingers. His reddish brown hair had flopped endearingly over his face, and Madeleine let out a sigh as he tucked it behind an ear with one slim, agile hand to reveal his perfect face. His features were too stunning to be true; it was as if a sculptor had spent decades chiseling them to flawlessness. At Madeleine's barely audible sigh, Remus's engaging amber eyes flicked over her face and held her own dark green eyes in their gaze. Madeleine dropped the bubbling vial she was holding, and pesky blushed spread across her cheeks. Remus looked away smiling, but no sooner than his eyes left, they had returned again to watch Madeleine.
"Maddie! What did you do that for?" Amilye asked, quickly casting a spell on the shards of glass and liquid on the floor that caused it to start levitating towards the trash bin. The inconvenient crimson flush made a second appearance on Madeleine's face, as she fumbled to explain.
"Miss Hawkens!" Professor Sonorous boomed across the room. Amilye heaved a disrespectful sigh and swiveled to face the Professor. She held up her wand and motioned impertinently to the levitating mess.
"What?" Amilye snapped, "I'm trying to clean up here, Sonorous." The Professor looked stricken for a minute before a look of fury crossed her face. She strode across the room purposefully, placing herself directly in front of Amilye, who quickly drew herself up to her full height, and placing her chin at an arrogant angle.
"Miss Hawkens," Professor Sonorous hissed, "you know very well that you are not allowed to clean up a mess in that manner." Amilye began to protest haughtily, but Professor Sonorous cut in before Amilye could get a word in edgewise. "Also, just because you are one of the best Potions students, you are not given the right to do whatever you wish in this class. I will not stand for it, and even if you are from my own house, I won't think twice about taking points from Slytherin. You will serve your detention tonight." Professor Sonorous began to walk away. Amilye folded her arms and asked loudly.
"Same time and place?" she asked, rolling her blue eyes and flipping her long blond hair over a shoulder. Professor Sonorous turned, a small smirk on her face. She really did like Amilye, truth be told.
"As usual, Amilye."
The students filed out of Potions glass with the usual wave of chatter and laughter. Amilye grumbled as she cleaned up the mess the Muggle way.
"At home, the house elves would be doing this. With magic!" she spat, brooming the glass into a dustpan. Before she could stand, a pair of shiny leather boots appeared in front of her face. She looked up, only to see the grinning face of Sirius Black, her on-again/off-again lover of the past year. Behind her she heard Madeleine let out a hilariously girlish giggle.
"Well," Madeleine said slyly, "I suppose I'll go catch up to Remus . . . you kids play nice, now." The sound of footsteps and a door closing sounded behind Sirius and Amilye. Amilye stood up, only a few inches shorter than Sirius. She smirked at him, but her eyes flicked over his face and her nose took in his manly smell, something she relished when it was there, something she missed when it wasn't. Sirius was ruggedly handsome. His face was as aristocratic as pretty-boy Lucius Malfoy's, his fine skin just as alabaster. His eyes sparkled the exact same shade of blue as Amilye's from under his thick black brows, and his hand automatically went to Amilye's waist. Amilye tucked a tousled piece of long coal-colored hair behind Sirius's pierced ear, and playfully flicked his black goatee.
"Trying to be a man?" she murmured playfully. Sirius leaned in for a kiss from his girlfriend.
"Didn't know I needed to try . . ." he replied, before walking her out the door.
Madeleine and Remus sat side by side on the Quidditch field. Remus had one arm slung over Madeleine's small shoulders, and she was leaning into his for warmth.
"And then Sonorous didn't even take points from that Slytherin bitch!" Madeleine heard from a red-haired Gryffindor a few seats down from she and Remus. She looked up at Remus, who shook his head.
"Don't mind it love, they're not talking about you." Madeleine sat up.
"But they're talking about my house . . . about my friend."
"Aww, come on Maddie! You know Lily Evans is as hard-core Gryffindor as they come, and you also know that she and Amilye hate one another! Can't blame one or the other, really . . . they don't make it easy to like themselves." Remus protested softly. Madeleine looked away from Remus to the Quidditch field, where James Potter and Lucius Malfoy were in a bitter, mid-air argument. She sighed softly.
"Does it ever bother you that I'm a Slytherin and you're a Gryffindor?" she asked Remus abruptly. Remus looked into Madeleine's eyes, and skimmed over her face. She was a pixie compared to him, only five feet tall to his five foot ten. Her face was impishly beautiful, all green-brown eyes and warm smiles. Her cheeks were pale, but flushed with a healthy glow. Her body was perfectly proportioned under her fitted black robes, and her hair curled in loose coffee-colored waves to her shoulders. She was the most beautiful girl in the world, as far as Remus was concerned. Her passion was undeniable, and her fiery and articulate way of standing up for her beliefs and her love stirred something in Remus' soul. He leaned in close to Maddie's face.
"Never." He whispered as he lay a feather-light kiss on her lips.
Amilye and Madeleine walked the steps to their dormitory together silently. As the reached the door to their room simultaneously, they both heaved identical sighs, then burst into delighted laughter. Amilye quickly opened the door and flung herself across her bed. She screeched, and writhed around on her emerald and white bedding.
"Sirius is so-o-o-o-o gorgeous!" she moaned, clutching her pillow to her chest. Her light blond hair lay fanned out about her face. Her stunningly blue eyes glittered under light brows. Her face was alabaster, as white as the sheets on her bed. Her face was that of some ancient myth, with high cheekbones and aristocratic and defined features. She was nearly longer than her bed, standing in at five foot ten, tall and willowy. Madeleine laughed delightedly and sat at the dark wooden vanity, brushing her dark hair.
"Oh, I don't know . . . I don't think Remus can be beat," she teased, knowing this would only start a mock-fight of who's boyfriend was the most attractive. Amilye sat up instantly.
"Oh he can," she nodded in a mock innocent tone, "because NOBODY kisses like Sirius . . ."
"Is that so? Because last time I kissed him he slobbered like a dog - " Madeleine didn't have time to finish her sentence when a green pillow smacked her squarely in the face. Madeleine let out a wild cry and pounced on Amilye, and a grand pillow fight ensued soon after. The two girls were breathless and full of laughter when the other two roommates came in. The girls stood in the doorway, looking stricken, and it was not long until they too had pillows thrown in their faces.
"Remus?" Madeleine whispered down the hall, her wand emitting sparks of light. A cool hand grabbed her arm, and she let out a gasp. She whirled around, to find herself face to face with Remus Lupin. Remus smiled softly, but suddenly looked shiftily right and left. Madeleine looked confused. She smiled curiously.
"What's wrong, Remus?" she asked. He didn't respond, but pulled her into a dark corner of the hall, putting out her light and pulling her into a passionate kiss in one swift moment. She smiled as his smooth lips grazed her, and his tongue opened her waiting lips. But suddenly as it came, the kiss was over abruptly, and he pushed her away. He stalked a few feet away, and ran his hand through his long hair nervously. Madeleine watched him warily. Sometimes he was a little touchy, but he never was this distracted or angry. He paced back and forth absentmindedly, muttering numbers to himself and counting on his fingers. Madeleine took a step closer to him, and put her hand on his shoulder.
"Remus, you're scaring me . . . tell me what's wrong," she asked quietly. Before she knew what was happening, Remus's face contorted angrily and he grabbed her hand off his shoulder roughly, flinging her against the wall with a viscous growl. Madeleine heard herself slam into the cold stone wall before she actually felt the pain creep up her body. She crumpled to the floor, livid tears falling down her cheeks. Remus fell to his knees beside her and reached for her, his face full of pain.
"I'm so sorry . . . I never meant to . . . I don't know what got into me, Maddie . . ." he stammered, but Madeleine pulled herself away from his touch. She looked at Remus's face warily, her nostrils flared in anger.
"Don't touch me," she said, her voice deathly quiet. Remus's amber eyes filled with hurt tears, and he put up his hands as if to surrender.
"Maddie," he pleaded softly, "I would never hurt you on purpose . . . it's just that tomorrow is the tenth and on the ninth it starts getting really bad and . . ." he trailed off, as Madeleine looked in his eyes coolly and began to speak levelly.
"I don't want to hear your bullshit, Remus. All I know is that you just threw me into a fucking wall. And I don't ever want to see you again," Madeleine's voice had steadily been growing louder and had reached a fever pitch, "I thought . . . I thought I . . ." she struggled, "It doesn't fucking matter what I thought! Because it's obvious that you and I will never see each other again . . ." At this point in Madeleine's teary tirade, Remus had reached for her again, and she shrieked.
"Don't touch me even again," she rasped cruelly, and stood quickly and ran to the Slytherin common room, crying cold angry tears the whole way.
Sirius sat on Remus's bed, holding the shaking form of his sobbing best friend. He tenderly pulled Remus's long hair back from his tear-streaked face, but as soon as Remus looked into Sirius's crystalline blue eyes, he unexpectedly wrapped his arms around Sirius's bare chest and heaved racking sobs. Sirius sighed, and awkwardly patted his friend's lean back. With a great gulp, Remus flopped back on the bed and let out a groan. Sirius leaned against the headboard, one leg slung over the side of the bed.
"So you felt the transformation growing stronger, and you just . . ." Sirius prodded Remus for more information.
"I threw her against the wall," Remus said robotically, "Man, it was like . . . it was like I was watching it, you know? Like it wasn't even me. And then I was terrified I hurt her . . . I would kill myself if anything happened to Madeleine," here Remus swallowed and turned to Sirius, "I love her." He buried his pained face in his hands. Sirius nodded slowly, and put a hand on Remus's shoulder.
"Come on, Remus, pull yourself together . . ." he said encouragingly, "Madeleine knows you love her, so she's - " Remus stood suddenly and yelled back at Sirius angrily before he could finish.
"That's it Sirius! She doesn't know I love her!" Remus let out an animalistic howl, and Sirius looked to see if Peter woke up, but he hadn't even stirred. James was out for the night . . . presumably in Lily's room. Sirius turned his eyes to Remus. He pitied his friend so much. Sirius lightly brushed the jagged scar across his nose and cheek. Amilye had once told him that it made him seem dangerous. Remus had given him that scar, early on in the year. Sirius sighed thoughtfully. It was only this last year that Remus had begun to be harder to control, especially since many times Prongs and Wormtail weren't necessarily there to help him, them being busy with their own undertakings. Remus had settled restlessly on the bed again, but was trembling. Sirius locked his gaze with Remus's.
"Brother?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah, I'm still here," Remus replied.
"You have to show her," Sirius said quietly. Remus looked at him strangely for a moment before shaking his shaggy head.
"No," he said firmly. Sirius leaned closer.
"You have to. You love her . . . she'll understand. Amilye will come too, and I'll be there. You won't be able to hurt her. You love her . . ." Sirius restated. Remus sighed, and was silent for a minute. He slowly turned his golden eyes to Sirius, and nodded.
Amilye sat on Madeleine's bed, holding the shaking form of her sobbing best friend. She tenderly pulled Madeleine's mussed hair back from his tear- streaked face, but as soon as Madeleine looked into Amilye's crystalline blue eyes, she unexpectedly wrapped his arms around Amilye's chest and heaved racking sobs. Amilye sighed, and awkwardly patted her friend's robed back. Amilye pulled Madeleine up to a sitting position, and Madeleine breathed in shakily.
"So he just did it? He just tossed you into the wall? What was his excuse, Maddie?" Amilye asked softy.
"He said something about it being the ninth, and that he got a little crazy the 'day before' and he didn't mean to . . ." Madeleine replied, her tears subsiding into numbness. Amilye eyed Madeleine suspiciously. Did Madeleine know? Amilye decided she didn't. Earlier in the year, Amilye had been wondering around outside the Gryffindor common room, waiting for Sirius to let her in so they could snog in his dorm, but as she paced back and forth in front of the door, a grey flash ran past her. She hadn't been able to tell what it was, but Sirius came running after it, not paying any attention to Amilye at all. Well, of course, the next day Sirius was on his knees explaining the whole situation with Remus to an angry Amilye, and begging for her back. Amilye stood slowly and looked at the door.
"Well, Maddie, umm . . . why don't you just get some sleep?" she coaxed Madeleine, rushing to the vanity and rummaging through Madeleine's nightclothes. She pulled out a pair of pajama pants and a camisole, and thrust them into Madeleine's arms. While Madeleine dazedly changed her clothes and crawled into bed, Amilye whispered encouraging "It'll be okay" 's and "It'll all blow over." When Madeleine was finally in bed, Amilye tucked the covers up under her chin and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. She slowly backed to the door, wand out.
"Sweet dreams, Princess . . . you'll feel better in the morning," she promised, as she ducked out the door.
Halfway down the hall, Amilye and Sirius ran smack into each other. Sirius helped the tall blond up, and wrapped her in an urgent kiss.
"Madeleine, is she - "
"Remus, is he - " They laughed, and then looked around to make sure nobody heard. Sirius pulled Amilye into a secluded corner.
"He's distraught. He won't stop shaking and blaming himself. Amilye, he loves her . . ." Sirius trailed off, lost in Amilye's eyes. She stretched up, and gave him a soft, sensual kiss. Sirius smiled for a minute then shook his dark head.
"Amilye, this isn't the time . . ." he said. She nodded agreeingly, but snuggled closer to him, his cloak wrapped around both of their warm bodies.
"Maddie has to know. She has to come tomorrow." Sirius ordered sternly. Amilye closed her eyes.
"It's going to be hard on her, Sirius. Damn, it'd be hard on anyone," she murmured into his chest. Sirius nodded, and drew Amilye even closer. He ducked his head down, and brought his lips to her ear.
"Now that that's settled, I don't think you're going to make it to Slytherin common room without someone seeing . . . Gryffindor is much, much closer . . ."
Madeleine sat blankly at the Slytherin table next to Amilye. Her day had not gotten better as Amilye promised, she thought bitterly. Potions was hell, with no Remus there to adore and everything else was bland and sad without his presence. She felt his gaze on her everywhere she went, and when she caught him looking at her in Divination, his eyes filled with tears before he averted his gaze. Madeleine could barely hold in her pain, such was the Slytherin way of doing things, but she managed. When Amilye stood at the table to go back to the room, so did Madeleine. When Amilye took a trip to the loo to brush her teeth and get ready for bed, so did Madeleine. She was the walking dead. When she lay down in her bed for the night, she could feel the weight of her unshed tears bearing down on her. So she closed her eyes, and she slept.
In the middle of the night, Madeleine was roughly shaken awake, and pulled out of bed.
"Come with me," Amilye said eerily . . .
Amilye swiveled her distraught friend around to face what she already knew. Madeleine's vision blurred a moment before she saw what her ears had already confirmed. Snarling in the corner was a sleek grey wolf. His eyes glimmered like moonlight, and his mouth was pulled back in a snarl to show treacherous gleaming white teeth. Madeleine shook her head soundlessly. It was every bedtime story and fairy tale come true in a gruesome, dark way. Madeleine wrestled herself away from Amilye, and took a step forward, towards the wolf. A large black dog skidded to a stop in front of her, snarling at the wolf, protecting her. She knelt down and pushed the dog away roughly. The dog shifted his eyes from the wolf to the girl and back again. He slowly backed away towards Amilye, and lay watchfully in her lap. A glow of blue moonlight streamed through the windows of the shack, spotlighting the radiant girl and the forbidding animal. The girl scooted closer, and reached out a hand into the moonlight, barely touching the wolf's snout.
"Remus?" she asked faintly. The wolf looked up, as if in recognition. In that moment, no one else was in the room, it was just The Girl and The Wolf, staring directly at one another. The wolf took a step forward, and then crumpled. He let out an untamed howl, as he began to change. Madeleine's weeping joined the animal's pained howling as she cradled the wolf in her arms, no longer afraid. Madeleine closed her eyes, and buried her face in his fur, her screams mingling with the wolf's. When she opened them, she was no longer holding him, but was being held carefully, and it was only she who was screaming. She turned to see, and her eyes beheld the sight she had waited for. Remus knelt before her, glorious in his transformation. His skin glowed in the dim blue light, and he was not ashamed of his nude form in front of Madeleine. He knelt beside her, a god. He slowly moved a hand to Madeleine's cheek and brushed away a tear with the flat of his thumb. Madeleine wrapped herself in his strong arms.
"Remus . . . I love you."
Madeleine screamed. The shriek pierced the blue-black room, louder even than the snarling coming from the left corner of the shack. She turned to run, but the arms of her best friend Amilye held her in place. Madeleine turned her tear-streaked face to Amilye, and protested against her friend's sturdy grip. Deep green eyes met crystal blue ones.
"Please, Amilye, I don't want to watch . . . I don't want to know . . ." Madeleine pleaded with her friend. Amilye's own eyes filled with tears, and she brought her friend into a hug.
"You need to know." She whispered in Madeleine's ear as she swiveled her distraught friend around to face her fears.
It was Potions class again. Madeleine used to despise Potions, but lately it hadn't been bad at all. She smiled a secret smile to herself, and stole a secret glance at the boy she had been seeing for some time now, Remus Lupin. Her smile broadened as she took in his beautiful form. He was, as usual, bent over his friend Peter's cauldron, adding and mixing to fix the mess bumbling Pettigrew had made. His muscular back was well defined under his thin robes, and Madeleine licked her lips thinking of his hard body, the smooth tan skin under her fingers. His reddish brown hair had flopped endearingly over his face, and Madeleine let out a sigh as he tucked it behind an ear with one slim, agile hand to reveal his perfect face. His features were too stunning to be true; it was as if a sculptor had spent decades chiseling them to flawlessness. At Madeleine's barely audible sigh, Remus's engaging amber eyes flicked over her face and held her own dark green eyes in their gaze. Madeleine dropped the bubbling vial she was holding, and pesky blushed spread across her cheeks. Remus looked away smiling, but no sooner than his eyes left, they had returned again to watch Madeleine.
"Maddie! What did you do that for?" Amilye asked, quickly casting a spell on the shards of glass and liquid on the floor that caused it to start levitating towards the trash bin. The inconvenient crimson flush made a second appearance on Madeleine's face, as she fumbled to explain.
"Miss Hawkens!" Professor Sonorous boomed across the room. Amilye heaved a disrespectful sigh and swiveled to face the Professor. She held up her wand and motioned impertinently to the levitating mess.
"What?" Amilye snapped, "I'm trying to clean up here, Sonorous." The Professor looked stricken for a minute before a look of fury crossed her face. She strode across the room purposefully, placing herself directly in front of Amilye, who quickly drew herself up to her full height, and placing her chin at an arrogant angle.
"Miss Hawkens," Professor Sonorous hissed, "you know very well that you are not allowed to clean up a mess in that manner." Amilye began to protest haughtily, but Professor Sonorous cut in before Amilye could get a word in edgewise. "Also, just because you are one of the best Potions students, you are not given the right to do whatever you wish in this class. I will not stand for it, and even if you are from my own house, I won't think twice about taking points from Slytherin. You will serve your detention tonight." Professor Sonorous began to walk away. Amilye folded her arms and asked loudly.
"Same time and place?" she asked, rolling her blue eyes and flipping her long blond hair over a shoulder. Professor Sonorous turned, a small smirk on her face. She really did like Amilye, truth be told.
"As usual, Amilye."
The students filed out of Potions glass with the usual wave of chatter and laughter. Amilye grumbled as she cleaned up the mess the Muggle way.
"At home, the house elves would be doing this. With magic!" she spat, brooming the glass into a dustpan. Before she could stand, a pair of shiny leather boots appeared in front of her face. She looked up, only to see the grinning face of Sirius Black, her on-again/off-again lover of the past year. Behind her she heard Madeleine let out a hilariously girlish giggle.
"Well," Madeleine said slyly, "I suppose I'll go catch up to Remus . . . you kids play nice, now." The sound of footsteps and a door closing sounded behind Sirius and Amilye. Amilye stood up, only a few inches shorter than Sirius. She smirked at him, but her eyes flicked over his face and her nose took in his manly smell, something she relished when it was there, something she missed when it wasn't. Sirius was ruggedly handsome. His face was as aristocratic as pretty-boy Lucius Malfoy's, his fine skin just as alabaster. His eyes sparkled the exact same shade of blue as Amilye's from under his thick black brows, and his hand automatically went to Amilye's waist. Amilye tucked a tousled piece of long coal-colored hair behind Sirius's pierced ear, and playfully flicked his black goatee.
"Trying to be a man?" she murmured playfully. Sirius leaned in for a kiss from his girlfriend.
"Didn't know I needed to try . . ." he replied, before walking her out the door.
Madeleine and Remus sat side by side on the Quidditch field. Remus had one arm slung over Madeleine's small shoulders, and she was leaning into his for warmth.
"And then Sonorous didn't even take points from that Slytherin bitch!" Madeleine heard from a red-haired Gryffindor a few seats down from she and Remus. She looked up at Remus, who shook his head.
"Don't mind it love, they're not talking about you." Madeleine sat up.
"But they're talking about my house . . . about my friend."
"Aww, come on Maddie! You know Lily Evans is as hard-core Gryffindor as they come, and you also know that she and Amilye hate one another! Can't blame one or the other, really . . . they don't make it easy to like themselves." Remus protested softly. Madeleine looked away from Remus to the Quidditch field, where James Potter and Lucius Malfoy were in a bitter, mid-air argument. She sighed softly.
"Does it ever bother you that I'm a Slytherin and you're a Gryffindor?" she asked Remus abruptly. Remus looked into Madeleine's eyes, and skimmed over her face. She was a pixie compared to him, only five feet tall to his five foot ten. Her face was impishly beautiful, all green-brown eyes and warm smiles. Her cheeks were pale, but flushed with a healthy glow. Her body was perfectly proportioned under her fitted black robes, and her hair curled in loose coffee-colored waves to her shoulders. She was the most beautiful girl in the world, as far as Remus was concerned. Her passion was undeniable, and her fiery and articulate way of standing up for her beliefs and her love stirred something in Remus' soul. He leaned in close to Maddie's face.
"Never." He whispered as he lay a feather-light kiss on her lips.
Amilye and Madeleine walked the steps to their dormitory together silently. As the reached the door to their room simultaneously, they both heaved identical sighs, then burst into delighted laughter. Amilye quickly opened the door and flung herself across her bed. She screeched, and writhed around on her emerald and white bedding.
"Sirius is so-o-o-o-o gorgeous!" she moaned, clutching her pillow to her chest. Her light blond hair lay fanned out about her face. Her stunningly blue eyes glittered under light brows. Her face was alabaster, as white as the sheets on her bed. Her face was that of some ancient myth, with high cheekbones and aristocratic and defined features. She was nearly longer than her bed, standing in at five foot ten, tall and willowy. Madeleine laughed delightedly and sat at the dark wooden vanity, brushing her dark hair.
"Oh, I don't know . . . I don't think Remus can be beat," she teased, knowing this would only start a mock-fight of who's boyfriend was the most attractive. Amilye sat up instantly.
"Oh he can," she nodded in a mock innocent tone, "because NOBODY kisses like Sirius . . ."
"Is that so? Because last time I kissed him he slobbered like a dog - " Madeleine didn't have time to finish her sentence when a green pillow smacked her squarely in the face. Madeleine let out a wild cry and pounced on Amilye, and a grand pillow fight ensued soon after. The two girls were breathless and full of laughter when the other two roommates came in. The girls stood in the doorway, looking stricken, and it was not long until they too had pillows thrown in their faces.
"Remus?" Madeleine whispered down the hall, her wand emitting sparks of light. A cool hand grabbed her arm, and she let out a gasp. She whirled around, to find herself face to face with Remus Lupin. Remus smiled softly, but suddenly looked shiftily right and left. Madeleine looked confused. She smiled curiously.
"What's wrong, Remus?" she asked. He didn't respond, but pulled her into a dark corner of the hall, putting out her light and pulling her into a passionate kiss in one swift moment. She smiled as his smooth lips grazed her, and his tongue opened her waiting lips. But suddenly as it came, the kiss was over abruptly, and he pushed her away. He stalked a few feet away, and ran his hand through his long hair nervously. Madeleine watched him warily. Sometimes he was a little touchy, but he never was this distracted or angry. He paced back and forth absentmindedly, muttering numbers to himself and counting on his fingers. Madeleine took a step closer to him, and put her hand on his shoulder.
"Remus, you're scaring me . . . tell me what's wrong," she asked quietly. Before she knew what was happening, Remus's face contorted angrily and he grabbed her hand off his shoulder roughly, flinging her against the wall with a viscous growl. Madeleine heard herself slam into the cold stone wall before she actually felt the pain creep up her body. She crumpled to the floor, livid tears falling down her cheeks. Remus fell to his knees beside her and reached for her, his face full of pain.
"I'm so sorry . . . I never meant to . . . I don't know what got into me, Maddie . . ." he stammered, but Madeleine pulled herself away from his touch. She looked at Remus's face warily, her nostrils flared in anger.
"Don't touch me," she said, her voice deathly quiet. Remus's amber eyes filled with hurt tears, and he put up his hands as if to surrender.
"Maddie," he pleaded softly, "I would never hurt you on purpose . . . it's just that tomorrow is the tenth and on the ninth it starts getting really bad and . . ." he trailed off, as Madeleine looked in his eyes coolly and began to speak levelly.
"I don't want to hear your bullshit, Remus. All I know is that you just threw me into a fucking wall. And I don't ever want to see you again," Madeleine's voice had steadily been growing louder and had reached a fever pitch, "I thought . . . I thought I . . ." she struggled, "It doesn't fucking matter what I thought! Because it's obvious that you and I will never see each other again . . ." At this point in Madeleine's teary tirade, Remus had reached for her again, and she shrieked.
"Don't touch me even again," she rasped cruelly, and stood quickly and ran to the Slytherin common room, crying cold angry tears the whole way.
Sirius sat on Remus's bed, holding the shaking form of his sobbing best friend. He tenderly pulled Remus's long hair back from his tear-streaked face, but as soon as Remus looked into Sirius's crystalline blue eyes, he unexpectedly wrapped his arms around Sirius's bare chest and heaved racking sobs. Sirius sighed, and awkwardly patted his friend's lean back. With a great gulp, Remus flopped back on the bed and let out a groan. Sirius leaned against the headboard, one leg slung over the side of the bed.
"So you felt the transformation growing stronger, and you just . . ." Sirius prodded Remus for more information.
"I threw her against the wall," Remus said robotically, "Man, it was like . . . it was like I was watching it, you know? Like it wasn't even me. And then I was terrified I hurt her . . . I would kill myself if anything happened to Madeleine," here Remus swallowed and turned to Sirius, "I love her." He buried his pained face in his hands. Sirius nodded slowly, and put a hand on Remus's shoulder.
"Come on, Remus, pull yourself together . . ." he said encouragingly, "Madeleine knows you love her, so she's - " Remus stood suddenly and yelled back at Sirius angrily before he could finish.
"That's it Sirius! She doesn't know I love her!" Remus let out an animalistic howl, and Sirius looked to see if Peter woke up, but he hadn't even stirred. James was out for the night . . . presumably in Lily's room. Sirius turned his eyes to Remus. He pitied his friend so much. Sirius lightly brushed the jagged scar across his nose and cheek. Amilye had once told him that it made him seem dangerous. Remus had given him that scar, early on in the year. Sirius sighed thoughtfully. It was only this last year that Remus had begun to be harder to control, especially since many times Prongs and Wormtail weren't necessarily there to help him, them being busy with their own undertakings. Remus had settled restlessly on the bed again, but was trembling. Sirius locked his gaze with Remus's.
"Brother?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah, I'm still here," Remus replied.
"You have to show her," Sirius said quietly. Remus looked at him strangely for a moment before shaking his shaggy head.
"No," he said firmly. Sirius leaned closer.
"You have to. You love her . . . she'll understand. Amilye will come too, and I'll be there. You won't be able to hurt her. You love her . . ." Sirius restated. Remus sighed, and was silent for a minute. He slowly turned his golden eyes to Sirius, and nodded.
Amilye sat on Madeleine's bed, holding the shaking form of her sobbing best friend. She tenderly pulled Madeleine's mussed hair back from his tear- streaked face, but as soon as Madeleine looked into Amilye's crystalline blue eyes, she unexpectedly wrapped his arms around Amilye's chest and heaved racking sobs. Amilye sighed, and awkwardly patted her friend's robed back. Amilye pulled Madeleine up to a sitting position, and Madeleine breathed in shakily.
"So he just did it? He just tossed you into the wall? What was his excuse, Maddie?" Amilye asked softy.
"He said something about it being the ninth, and that he got a little crazy the 'day before' and he didn't mean to . . ." Madeleine replied, her tears subsiding into numbness. Amilye eyed Madeleine suspiciously. Did Madeleine know? Amilye decided she didn't. Earlier in the year, Amilye had been wondering around outside the Gryffindor common room, waiting for Sirius to let her in so they could snog in his dorm, but as she paced back and forth in front of the door, a grey flash ran past her. She hadn't been able to tell what it was, but Sirius came running after it, not paying any attention to Amilye at all. Well, of course, the next day Sirius was on his knees explaining the whole situation with Remus to an angry Amilye, and begging for her back. Amilye stood slowly and looked at the door.
"Well, Maddie, umm . . . why don't you just get some sleep?" she coaxed Madeleine, rushing to the vanity and rummaging through Madeleine's nightclothes. She pulled out a pair of pajama pants and a camisole, and thrust them into Madeleine's arms. While Madeleine dazedly changed her clothes and crawled into bed, Amilye whispered encouraging "It'll be okay" 's and "It'll all blow over." When Madeleine was finally in bed, Amilye tucked the covers up under her chin and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. She slowly backed to the door, wand out.
"Sweet dreams, Princess . . . you'll feel better in the morning," she promised, as she ducked out the door.
Halfway down the hall, Amilye and Sirius ran smack into each other. Sirius helped the tall blond up, and wrapped her in an urgent kiss.
"Madeleine, is she - "
"Remus, is he - " They laughed, and then looked around to make sure nobody heard. Sirius pulled Amilye into a secluded corner.
"He's distraught. He won't stop shaking and blaming himself. Amilye, he loves her . . ." Sirius trailed off, lost in Amilye's eyes. She stretched up, and gave him a soft, sensual kiss. Sirius smiled for a minute then shook his dark head.
"Amilye, this isn't the time . . ." he said. She nodded agreeingly, but snuggled closer to him, his cloak wrapped around both of their warm bodies.
"Maddie has to know. She has to come tomorrow." Sirius ordered sternly. Amilye closed her eyes.
"It's going to be hard on her, Sirius. Damn, it'd be hard on anyone," she murmured into his chest. Sirius nodded, and drew Amilye even closer. He ducked his head down, and brought his lips to her ear.
"Now that that's settled, I don't think you're going to make it to Slytherin common room without someone seeing . . . Gryffindor is much, much closer . . ."
Madeleine sat blankly at the Slytherin table next to Amilye. Her day had not gotten better as Amilye promised, she thought bitterly. Potions was hell, with no Remus there to adore and everything else was bland and sad without his presence. She felt his gaze on her everywhere she went, and when she caught him looking at her in Divination, his eyes filled with tears before he averted his gaze. Madeleine could barely hold in her pain, such was the Slytherin way of doing things, but she managed. When Amilye stood at the table to go back to the room, so did Madeleine. When Amilye took a trip to the loo to brush her teeth and get ready for bed, so did Madeleine. She was the walking dead. When she lay down in her bed for the night, she could feel the weight of her unshed tears bearing down on her. So she closed her eyes, and she slept.
In the middle of the night, Madeleine was roughly shaken awake, and pulled out of bed.
"Come with me," Amilye said eerily . . .
Amilye swiveled her distraught friend around to face what she already knew. Madeleine's vision blurred a moment before she saw what her ears had already confirmed. Snarling in the corner was a sleek grey wolf. His eyes glimmered like moonlight, and his mouth was pulled back in a snarl to show treacherous gleaming white teeth. Madeleine shook her head soundlessly. It was every bedtime story and fairy tale come true in a gruesome, dark way. Madeleine wrestled herself away from Amilye, and took a step forward, towards the wolf. A large black dog skidded to a stop in front of her, snarling at the wolf, protecting her. She knelt down and pushed the dog away roughly. The dog shifted his eyes from the wolf to the girl and back again. He slowly backed away towards Amilye, and lay watchfully in her lap. A glow of blue moonlight streamed through the windows of the shack, spotlighting the radiant girl and the forbidding animal. The girl scooted closer, and reached out a hand into the moonlight, barely touching the wolf's snout.
"Remus?" she asked faintly. The wolf looked up, as if in recognition. In that moment, no one else was in the room, it was just The Girl and The Wolf, staring directly at one another. The wolf took a step forward, and then crumpled. He let out an untamed howl, as he began to change. Madeleine's weeping joined the animal's pained howling as she cradled the wolf in her arms, no longer afraid. Madeleine closed her eyes, and buried her face in his fur, her screams mingling with the wolf's. When she opened them, she was no longer holding him, but was being held carefully, and it was only she who was screaming. She turned to see, and her eyes beheld the sight she had waited for. Remus knelt before her, glorious in his transformation. His skin glowed in the dim blue light, and he was not ashamed of his nude form in front of Madeleine. He knelt beside her, a god. He slowly moved a hand to Madeleine's cheek and brushed away a tear with the flat of his thumb. Madeleine wrapped herself in his strong arms.
"Remus . . . I love you."