Harry Potter and his whole world belong to JK Rowling. I am borrowing a few characters from her.

The Full Moon

When Harry and Ron finished changing out of their Quidditch robes, they headed to the common room to wait for Ginny. They didn't expect to find her still there, still in her Quidditch robes.

They also didn't expect to find her screaming at Dean Thomas at the top of her lungs.

"Will you listen to me? He's nothing more than my friend! He's practically my brother! There's nothing going on between us!"

"That's funny, because you very rarely hold my hand, and yet you'll sit at the house table at breakfast holding his hand! And you certainly seemed very cozy at the Welcoming Feast, when you had your hands all over him!"

Ginny stared at Dean, her mouth open.

"Do you mean when I had my hand on his arm? When you accused somebody who was very dear to him of being a Death Eater? Somebody who died to protect him!" she snarled. "When I was stopping him from pounding yours and Seamus' heads in?"

Harry stood there in awe of Ginny's temper. Her face was nearly the same shade as her hair. Had she been screaming at him like that, he would have been running in the other direction. He couldn't believe that they were quarrelling over him.

"Harry, we'd better stand out of harm's way," Ron muttered. "She's about to start throwing hexes at him and we don't want to get hit with one."

Harry wondered briefly if Ron was joking as they moved back further. A couple first year girls were cowering near the door leading up to their dormitory. Harry couldn't blame them, really.

"And, for your information, I wasn't holding his hand this morning at breakfast. He was holding mine. He was trying to calm me down because I was nervous about the tryouts. Which you would have noticed had you actually paid any attention to me since we got back. The only time you seem to even notice I exist is when I'm talking to Harry!"

"You're always talking to Harry! You barely notice me! It's so obvious that you like him that you might as well just roll over with your legs in the air!"

Ginny's face, if possible, turned an even brighter shade of scarlet. It didn't come close to Ron's though.

"You son of a bitch," Ron swore, starting across the room. Harry didn't even think about grabbing the back of his robes. He was as angry at Dean as Ron was.

Harry had been worried about the use of hexes from Ginny. He shouldn't have. Ron had barely taken a step when Ginny's fist collided with Dean's cheek. Dean staggered back, staring at Ginny in shock. Ginny's hands were balled into fists as she stood in front of him.

"Ginny-" Dean began. He swallowed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that."
Ginny glared at him, her eyes wild. She scoffed when he apologized.

"We're through," she said. "You need to grow up. A girl can have male friends without wanting to be their girlfriend."

She whipped around and stalked toward their dormitory, her robes flying behind her.

Dean stared after her, pale faced and angry. There was a red mark on his face where Ginny had hit him. He paled even more when he saw Ron and Harry standing there. Harry did grab Ron's robes this time.

"If you ever-" Ron began, his face flaming and his voice shaking in his fury, "insult my sister again, you won't have to worry about dealing with her. You will have to deal with me. Got that?"

Dean stared at Ron and nodded slowly. He glanced at Harry embarrassedly then looked away quickly.
"I didn't mean to say that," he murmured softly. "I don't know what got into me."

"I don't care," Ron snarled. "You said it. And if you say anything like that again, you'd better be ready to leave Hogwarts, because I will hurt you. Badly."

Dean nodded again. He turned and went up to the dormitory.

"Git," Ron muttered angrily. Harry had to agree with him.

When Ginny came down, they were both surprised to find traces of tears on her cheeks. She glared at them both when she caught them staring.

"Ginny-" Harry began.
"Don't bother, Harry," she snapped. "I'm fine. It was time to break up with him anyway." She glared around the common room. "I'm just sorry I didn't hit him harder."

When they walked into the Great Hall a few moments later, both Remus and Hermione stared at them. Ron's face was still scarlet with anger and Ginny's face was still blotchy from tears. Harry's face felt hot and he knew that he was a bit red as well. Remus stayed where he was at the head table, but Harry knew he wanted to know what was going on as bad as Hermione did.

"What happened?" Hermione demanded as soon as the three of them sat down. "What's going on? Was it that Mark Evans again?"
Ginny shook her head, a wry smile spreading across her face.

"No," she answered quietly. "Dean and I had a row. We broke up."

Hermione looked at her in surprise.

"Really? What about? And why do you two look as upset as Ginny does?"
Ron snarled but said nothing. Harry shook his head.

"We were fighting about Harry," Ginny answered. "Dean is apparently jealous of the time I spend with Harry. He also doesn't like the fact that Harry was holding my hand this morning. And he didn't like when I had my hands all over Harry at the Welcoming Feast."
Hermione looked confused. "When was that?"
"First of September, Hermione," Ron spat, trying to lighten the mood a bit and failing miserably, mainly due to his own temper. "Just after the ride on the Hogwarts Express. Remember?"

Hermione looked Ron's way but said nothing.

"When Dean and Seamus were talking about Sirius and I put my hand on Harry's arm." Ginny chuckled. "That qualifies as having my hands all over Harry."

Hermione snorted. "Why are you two so angry then?"

Ron gritted his teeth. Harry sighed and told her what Dean had said to Ginny. Hermione's hand clenched around her wand and her eyes shot fire.

"How dare he? I hope you hexed him!"

"I hit him."

Hermione stared at her friend then burst out laughing.

"Good. What a git. It's his loss, Ginny."

"Yes it is," Harry agreed. Ginny smiled around at them all.

"Thanks, you guys."

*

"As you all know, Friday is the full moon. I'm not sure as of yet if I'll be able to teach that day, but I will be back by Monday morning." Remus leaned against his desk as he explained this. Harry thought that he looked tired.

Dean raised his hand. Remus raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yes, Dean?"
Remus had been most upset when they'd explained to him about Dean and Ginny's row and Dean's jealousy about Ginny's friendship with Harry. Harry had thought it best not to mention what Dean had said.

Dean swallowed and glanced at Seamus.

"I don't mean any offence, Professor," he said slowly. "What is it like?"

Ron's head snapped up and he glared at Dean. He'd been drawing idly on his parchment and now his face was scarlet once more. Hermione noticed this and placed her hand on his arm. When he looked her way, she shook her head. She wanted to know the answer.

Harry glanced at Remus, trying to gauge his reaction. His face was impassive.

"What is what like?" Remus looked honestly confused. He crossed his arms as he waited for Dean's explanation.

Dean flushed as he glanced at Seamus once more.

"To turn into a werewolf."

Remus sighed quietly. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he pondered his answer.

"To tell you the truth, Dean, I don't remember much from moonrise to moonset." He chose his words carefully, looking at each of them in turn. "It hurts, of course, to have your joints and muscles rearranged twice in the space of a few hours. Before the invention of the Wolfsbane Potion, I would be locked into an area where I couldn't get out and bite anybody. Bereft of that, I would bite and scratch myself. When I was at school, that area was the Shrieking Shack. It was built for my use, and the Whomping Willow was planted because I came to school. The Shrieking Shack was never haunted. The noises that the villagers heard were me, attacking myself."

Parvati had her hands over her mouth. There were tears in her eyes. Lavender was already crying.

Hermione raised her hand. "When you changed back…were you all cut up? From biting yourself?" She bit her lip. "Or did you heal as you changed back?"

Remus looked around at them all once more. Slowly, he started rolling up the sleeve of his robes.

He held up an arm that was covered in scars. The scars were very thin and had obviously been healed by someone, but they were there. His whole arm was covered. Harry heard Hermione stifle a gasp of horror. Parvati's eyes spilled over.

"Every month for seven years, I was in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey, I'm sure, was regretting her decision to heal me after a while. She never complained, even when I stayed late during Christmas holidays, which meant that her own holidays were delayed.

"It's easier now, Dean, to be a werewolf. People are becoming more aware that we're only dangerous once a month. I take every precaution imaginable, even when I am under the influence of Wolfsbane. I asked Professor Dumbledore to add Unbreakable Charms around my office during the full moon.

"When I was in school, there was a huge thing in the Daily Prophet. Something about mass werewolf murders. Wizards would get together and go to suspected werewolf houses and kill them. It was something like the Witch Trials that you read about. They killed seventeen suspected werewolves. Only one turned out to be.

"When we learned about werewolves in our Defence classes, we were all told how to identify a werewolf and how to kill a werewolf. Nothing on what to do when you are bitten. Nothing on how to live with it."

"Maybe you could start a support group," Ron said quietly. Harry thought he might be joking, because that was Ron's style, but Ron looked very serious. "Start a Ministry Werewolf Awareness group or something."
Remus smiled.

"It would probably help some people. Most people who are bitten go mad in the end. Some are irresponsible to start with and that's how they end up bitten in the first place. I was…lucky, if you will, that I was bitten at an early age. And that my parents were wonderful people. They gave me every opportunity they could for me to be as normal as possible. I became their whole life and it eventually wore them down. Both of them died young. My mother before I left school and my father not long after."

Remus sighed and looked at his desk. Harry saw the sadness flicker in his eyes before it was abruptly shuttered. He found himself thinking that it must be very lonely, being Remus Lupin.

"I'm sorry, sir," Dean said softly. Harry could see that he wasn't sure why he was saying it, but knew it was right.

"Me too," Seamus said.

"I'm sorry," Neville said quietly.

"We're sorry too," Parvati and Lavender said together, not bothering to stem their tears.

"We know that you're a good person," Hermione said, tears also splashing down her front. "We know that you would never do anything to jeopardise our safety." Her chin wobbled and she looked at her desk.

"We know that it's something you can't help," Ron added. "The Mar…erm, your friends had it right. You are who you are, not what you are."

Harry looked at Remus. Remus met his gaze.

"Ron is right. Padfoot was right," he said, knowing that few people in the room would know what he meant. "You are who you are, and you're the best professor we've ever had. And I think Padfoot was right when he said that you were the best of the Marauders."

Remus rubbed his face with his hands, then let out a choked laugh.

"I'm also the last."

*

"Thank you, Harry," Remus said later. He'd asked Harry to stay after the class had ended. He handed Harry the mirror. "It really meant a lot to me that you let me have that. I'm sorry I haven't given it back before now. It's been nice, being able to speak with Sirius again."

Harry nodded as he took the mirror.

"What do you talk about?" he asked. "If I may ask."

"You may," Remus said with a smile. "You, mainly. Sirius asks how your school work is going, and how you are doing, whether you seem to be adjusting to things. He's fanatical. The first thing he says to me after he asks how I am is 'How's Harry?' I think he'll be happy to see your face when you talk to him next.

"We also talk about Lord Voldemort. We talk about Dumbledore, and the Order. We talk about when we were younger, when the Marauder's were together."

Remus smiled sadly.

"You best get going, Harry. I expect you'll want to drop your things off in your dormitory before dinner."

Harry nodded and left the room.

"What did Remus want, Harry?" Ginny asked a few moments later as he joined them in the Great Hall.

"To give me the mirror back," Harry answered, helping himself to some potatoes and roast beef.

"Brilliant," Ron said. "We should talk to Padfoot tonight."

Harry smiled. "If it's all the same to you, Ron, I'd rather speak with Sirius alone at first. It's been a while since I've been able to talk to him."

"Of course," Ron said quickly.

Later, after everyone had gone to bed, Harry sat alone in the common room. He pulled the mirror out of his bag and settled into the chair by the fire. He smiled as he held it up.

"Sirius Black," he said quietly.

"Harry?"

Harry was surprised by Sirius' sudden answer. Even more shocking was Sirius appearance. He had a large cut in his cheek and his left eye was black. He looked like he was in pain.

He looked like somebody who had been tortured.

"What's happened to you?" Harry demanded. Sirius sighed.

"I got into a discussion with Barty Crouch."

Harry gaped at Sirius. "Barty Crouch?"

Sirius nodded. "Junior, that is. Barty Sr would have gone on. Barty Jr. is stuck in limbo as his body is not dead. We…disagree…often."

Harry was dumbfounded. He hadn't even thought about other souls trapped beyond the veil.

"But he was Kissed by the Dementors," Harry remembered.

"Yes. The souls of people Kissed by the Dementors remain in limbo until their bodies expire."

Sirius smiled suddenly.

"Why are we talking about this? It's been too long since we spoke for us to be talking about things like this. How are you, Harry?"
"I'm worried about you," Harry answered. "But other than that I'm alright. My classes seem to be going well."

Harry told Sirius about Snape pulling him aside after their first lesson. Sirius had a look of stunned disbelief on his face after Harry finished.

"That is a surprise." Sirius smiled at Harry. "So have you had your Quidditch tryouts yet? What's going on there?"

"We've had a few practices already. The new players are getting better every practice and I think by the time we play Slytherin we'll be okay. But you should have seen how this one first year reacted!" Harry quickly told Sirius about Mark Evans and his outburst at the Quidditch tryouts. Sirius' eyes were blazing by the time Harry finished.

"What an ungrateful little berk!" Sirius snarled angrily. "I hope you told him it was Chaser or nothing."

"Actually, I offered him Reserve Seeker, but he turned that down."

Sirius shook his head. "Oh well, his loss."

Harry spoke with Sirius for another hour before saying good night. He went up to the dorm and fell into bed without changing out of his robes, asleep almost before his head hit the pillow.

*

Harry groaned on Friday morning as he rolled out of bed. He hadn't been sleeping well since he'd spoken to Sirius. His old dream had come back and it was even more vivid than it had been. He was going to tell Remus about it after their class that day.

However, when he walked into their Defence Against the Dark Arts class he was surprised to find not Remus, but Dumbledore standing at the head of the class. It was then that he remembered the full moon that night.

"Good morning," Dumbledore said, smiling at them all. "I suppose you're surprised to find me here. Professor Lupin said he wasn't feeling well today and asked me to take his class for him. I know you're all here, and I know you all want to learn, so we won't waste any time with chit chat."

The lesson was surprisingly fun. Professor Dumbledore tested their ability to deflect minor curses. He tested them on their knowledge of counter curses. He smiled at the end of the class, told them that Professor Lupin was doing a wonderful job with them and that he would see them again next time.

Harry, Ron and Hermione left the classroom with Neville. Neville had impressed Harry more than anyone. A year ago, Neville wouldn't have been able to do half the curses or counter curses that he'd done. Harry couldn't help but wonder if it was the new wand or the D.A. lessons that had helped him. Maybe it had been a combination of both.

Ron wanted to go visit Remus, to make sure he was alright, but Hermione wouldn't hear of it. She reminded them of the last full moon they'd witnessed. Remus had been edgy and short tempered. She told them it would be better to wait until the full moon was over to go visit him. Harry knew she was right, but it didn't stop him from being a little annoyed with her.

They had the afternoon off so they wandered down to visit with Hagrid. As soon as Hagrid had opened the door, Fang threw himself upon them, trying to lick their ears. Harry chuckled and pushed Fang off before the dog knocked him to the floor.

They sat and talked with Hagrid all afternoon. Harry told Hagrid all about the mirror, and going to the Ministry to get it to Sirius. Hagrid reacted with shock when Harry told him that.

"Yeh coulda been caught!" Hagrid muttered angrily. "What was Professor Lupin thinking about?"

"He was thinking that it would be better if he went with me, because he knew I would go anyway," Harry answered.

Hagrid huffed, annoyed, but said nothing more on the subject. Harry, Ron and Hermione stayed for a bit longer, then headed back to the castle for dinner.

Remus, of course, wasn't in the Great Hall. Harry watched the ceiling anxiously, waiting for the moon to rise.

"He's going to be okay, Harry," Hermione said quietly. "Professor Snape brewed the Wolfsbane Potion for him."

Harry snorted, but didn't answer. He didn't trust Snape.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "He's not going to do something to Remus with Professor Dumbledore here, Harry."

Harry didn't say anything as he watched the moon rise slowly.