The Wolf of Change
Chapter 7 - Wit and Willow
It was Remus' third week at Hogwarts by the time the Full Moon came around. That week, he could feel the ache deep in his bones and joints begin to throb, and began losing much more sleep to nightmares.
He awoke one morning to James Potter's concerned shakes. "Remus? Remus are you okay?"
Remus sat bolt upright and stared in horror at his friend, one hand clapped over his mouth. "What-What did I say?" He muttered.
James frowned. "Er...I think you were shouting for your parents..."
Remus relaxed a little. "Oh. Sorry. I'm fine now. It's just...my Mum isn't too well, and I might have to go home to look after her sometime soon. My Dad's really busy at work this week."
This story just tumbled from his lips - it came so easily that Remus was almost scared by the way he had come up with it; the ease with which the lie had emerged.
James, however, just nodded in understanding and patted his shoulder before retreating to his own bed.
That day in History of Magic, Sephine outwitted Professor Binns, and consequently he left her alone for the rest of the lesson. She and Charlie took advantage of this lull in attention from the teacher, and used it to gain the attention of the other students instead. Normally, Remus would have been giggling along with the rest of them, however this time; all he wanted to do was lay his head on the table and go to sleep.
As the day progressed he got more and more dozy, and nearly walked off one of the staircases as it was moving. Amy Corely grabbed his arm to stop him falling. "Gosh, Remus! What's wrong with you today? You seem way more subdued. Are you ill? You look a bit greenish? Maybe you drank too much, and you're turning into a frog!" She laughed.
"I'm fine." He snapped, tearing his arm free, and not wanting to listen to her nonsensical babble. But then he saw her wounded expression.
"Gee, I'm sorry, it was just harmless curiosity!"
"I'm sorry, Amy. I didn't sleep too well last night. I must be a bit tired. I didn't mean anything."
She nodded. "Okay, I understand.
"Hey, if you're having trouble sleeping, maybe you should talk to Madam Pomfrey, the nurse? I hear she's got a potion that guarantees you have a dreamless sleep, although you probably don't wake up the next morning till midday or something and."
Remus tuned her voice out, and gazed at the paintings as the class walked to Defence Against The Dark Arts. He nearly stopped in his tracks though, when he saw a painting of a man standing in a forest, surrounded by wolves. The man appeared to be talking to them.
Remus was intrigued, but he couldn't stop, as the crowd forced him to keep going.
* * *
Remus didn't get a chance that day to see the painting again. He did go to Madam Pomfrey as Amy had suggested, though. The Sun was sinking low on the horizon as she led him across the dampening grass towards the Whomping Willow. The clouds that frosted the evening sky burnt red, and Remus wished - not for the first time in his life - that he was able to watch the Sun go down and to see a Full Moon rise - through his own eyes for a change. Pomfrey had secured the Willow, and waited patiently as Remus stared at the dazzling display. He finally tore his eyes away, and peered down inside the Willow. It wasn't pitch black, but Remus wished it were. He could see eery silhouettes of roots and piles of soil, all in a terrible blue silver -
(Like the Moon)
- light. He drew a breath, looked once, lastly, imploringly at Madam Pomfrey. She smiled comfortingly, but he could see her expression was beginning to get nervous. He turned then, and scrambled down into the near-dark.
* * *
The Wolf didn't like being given so much more freedom yet so much more restriction. It resented the new arrangements made for it, and it positively hated the smell of humans around the house. To the wolf, everything in the building stank of humans, awakening its hunger without satisfying it.
* * *
Remus' eyelids fluttered as the cool, crisp light of a November dawn floated in through the charmed shutters on the nearest window. He was lying at the foot of the stairs, and he felt bruised all over. As always after it, his fingertips and nails throbbed, and his mouth felt full of splinters. He rolled over to his side and struggled to his feet, pieces of shattered wood and glass tinkling and clattering as they fell off him. He brushed himself down slowly, then looked at his palms; they were raw and torn, as usual. He groaned, and made for the old mirror in the hall of the house. When he got there, he found that there was only one piece left big enough to get any form of a reflection from. The pieces were all over the floor, and.Remus glanced sharply from his reflection to the back of his hand. "How come I didn't feel that?" He muttered, gingerly getting a grip on the shard. He gritted his teeth and gave it a little tug. Pain flared, and he drew his left hand away quickly with a cry of indigence. He tried again, this time going for one fast yank. However, he found this didn't work either, and doubled over at the pain. When he looked again, he saw that the piece was bigger than he had thought, and he had succeeded in pulling it out a bit. It was now streaked with his blood at the bottom. Madam Pomfrey was waiting anxiously for him at the entrance, a numbing potion ready in her hands. She hurried him to the infirmary, bustling him along to get him there before students began to wake up. She tucked Remus up in a screened bed and removed the piece of mirror from his hand with a quick spell, all the while clucking and complimenting him on his bravery. When she had finished attending to all his cuts and bruises that were bad enough to merit attention, Madam Pomfrey finally left him to sleep, casting one final pitying glance over her shoulder.
* * *
Remus woke up late in the afternoon and scurried quietly to the Gryffindor dormitory. "Patronum!" he whispered to the painting of the Fat Lady, desperate to get to the next lesson before anyone saw him. The door swung open and Remus charged up the stairs to the room he shared with James, Sirius and Peter. He threw the door open and ran to the trunk at the foot of his bed, a sense of urgency growing within him each second.
"Hey, Remus, what's the hurry?" Remus jumped so hard that the lid of his trunk slammed down on his fingers. "Argh! Peter? What on earth are you doing here?" "Well, I forgot my textbook for Potions, so Professor Trugin chased me out, and told me to go and get it, but I've lost it! I can't find it anywhere, Remus, you have to help me!" "Um." Remus said, sucking his bruised fingers and surveying the mess Peter had made on and around his bed by emptying his trunk out. "Is that it?" He asked, pointing with a swelling finger. "Wow, yeah! Remus you're a saviour! I'd never have seen that!" Peter pounced on the book. Then, however, his round joyful face transformed into a slightly suspicious and worried one as he studied his friend. "Where were you, Remus? Everyone was dead worried. James said you'd probably gone to see your Mum. Is she okay?" Remus fidgeted. "Uh.she'll be okay I think, Peter. Thanks for asking. Let's get to Potions, shall we? I don't want Trugin taking more points off Gryffindor because of us." So the two boys ran even faster back to the dungeons, and burst through the doors just as Trugin was about to express his displeasure at Peter's lack of organisation. And just as Sephine and Charlie's cauldron exploded. Peter, who had been the first to enter, got covered in a fluorescent yellow liquid, whereas Remus, who had been shielded by Peter, was saved the hassle. Sephine and Charlie were laughing too much for the potion to have just hit Peter though. Indeed, Remus saw that Trugin had got the worst of the explosion. Yellow slime dripped off his hooked nose and ran along his mono-brow. A huge glob was forming at his pointy chin, and his normally greasy hair now looked as though it had been in a frying pan. A strange noise came from his throat, but Sephine and Charlie couldn't hear it, because they were laughing so much. No one else laughed. They all waited to see what Trugin would do. Trugin opened his mouth wide, and drew a deep breath. "QUACK!!!" He bellowed. Sephine and Charlie burst out laughing harder than ever, and this time the rest of the class joined them. Peter turned round to the disbelieving Remus, nodding his head and laughing too. "Quack!" He exclaimed. Then in great surprise clapped his hands to his mouth. "Quack?" "QUA-AAAAAAAACK!" shouted Trugin. He almost achieved the silence he desired. "QUACK!" he yelled at Sephine and Charlie. "Quack, quack, quack! Quack!" Charlie managed to raise an eyebrow and stop his muffled giggles. "I'm s- sorry, Sir! I don't understand you!" "QUAAAAAAAAACK!" Trugin turned away from Charlie and Sephine and began rummaging in his cupboard, muttering "Quack, quack, quack. Quack, quack, quack," all the time to himself. He then started throwing ingredients into a cauldron, hastily preparing the antidote. Just as he was about to raise the cup of potion he'd brewed to his quivering lips, the school bell chimed. "Whoopee!" Charlie shouted, and he and Sephine dashed for the door, bags slung over shoulders. "Hey, Rem'!" Charlie clapped him on the shoulder as he raced past. "Nice to see you back, Rem'!" Sephine grinned, following Charlie, as Professor Trugin's shout of "WINTERS! COOKSON!" followed them out of the dungeon. Peter made his way tentatively towards Trugin. "Q-q-quack?" He asked. "Do you think you are being amusing?" Trugin screamed. "Get out! All of you!" "Quack!" Peter wailed. "Go away! The effects will wear off by tomorrow!" The Potions Master said irritably. "Hey! Remus! Where were you!" Sirius asked, bounding across the classroom, followed by James, Martin and Lily. "I, ah.I was just looking after my Mum for the night. She's not too good at the moment." Remus saw in the corner of his vision Trugin, who was eyeing him, a sly sneer spreading across his face. "Hey, I'm sorry, man." Martin said. "Hope she's feelin' better soon." "Yeah, me too, Rem'." James declared. "Hey, Remus. I hope you're okay, too?" Lily enquired. "Yeah I'm fine, thanks for asking, Lily." Sirius shook his head. "Gee, sorry, Rem'. Hope everything is okay." Remus nearly smiled in disbelief at the amount of concern he was being shown. If they knew really where I was, they wouldn't be so concerned. They'd have run right out that door like everyone else. "Everything's fine, Si'."
Chapter 7 - Wit and Willow
It was Remus' third week at Hogwarts by the time the Full Moon came around. That week, he could feel the ache deep in his bones and joints begin to throb, and began losing much more sleep to nightmares.
He awoke one morning to James Potter's concerned shakes. "Remus? Remus are you okay?"
Remus sat bolt upright and stared in horror at his friend, one hand clapped over his mouth. "What-What did I say?" He muttered.
James frowned. "Er...I think you were shouting for your parents..."
Remus relaxed a little. "Oh. Sorry. I'm fine now. It's just...my Mum isn't too well, and I might have to go home to look after her sometime soon. My Dad's really busy at work this week."
This story just tumbled from his lips - it came so easily that Remus was almost scared by the way he had come up with it; the ease with which the lie had emerged.
James, however, just nodded in understanding and patted his shoulder before retreating to his own bed.
That day in History of Magic, Sephine outwitted Professor Binns, and consequently he left her alone for the rest of the lesson. She and Charlie took advantage of this lull in attention from the teacher, and used it to gain the attention of the other students instead. Normally, Remus would have been giggling along with the rest of them, however this time; all he wanted to do was lay his head on the table and go to sleep.
As the day progressed he got more and more dozy, and nearly walked off one of the staircases as it was moving. Amy Corely grabbed his arm to stop him falling. "Gosh, Remus! What's wrong with you today? You seem way more subdued. Are you ill? You look a bit greenish? Maybe you drank too much, and you're turning into a frog!" She laughed.
"I'm fine." He snapped, tearing his arm free, and not wanting to listen to her nonsensical babble. But then he saw her wounded expression.
"Gee, I'm sorry, it was just harmless curiosity!"
"I'm sorry, Amy. I didn't sleep too well last night. I must be a bit tired. I didn't mean anything."
She nodded. "Okay, I understand.
"Hey, if you're having trouble sleeping, maybe you should talk to Madam Pomfrey, the nurse? I hear she's got a potion that guarantees you have a dreamless sleep, although you probably don't wake up the next morning till midday or something and."
Remus tuned her voice out, and gazed at the paintings as the class walked to Defence Against The Dark Arts. He nearly stopped in his tracks though, when he saw a painting of a man standing in a forest, surrounded by wolves. The man appeared to be talking to them.
Remus was intrigued, but he couldn't stop, as the crowd forced him to keep going.
* * *
Remus didn't get a chance that day to see the painting again. He did go to Madam Pomfrey as Amy had suggested, though. The Sun was sinking low on the horizon as she led him across the dampening grass towards the Whomping Willow. The clouds that frosted the evening sky burnt red, and Remus wished - not for the first time in his life - that he was able to watch the Sun go down and to see a Full Moon rise - through his own eyes for a change. Pomfrey had secured the Willow, and waited patiently as Remus stared at the dazzling display. He finally tore his eyes away, and peered down inside the Willow. It wasn't pitch black, but Remus wished it were. He could see eery silhouettes of roots and piles of soil, all in a terrible blue silver -
(Like the Moon)
- light. He drew a breath, looked once, lastly, imploringly at Madam Pomfrey. She smiled comfortingly, but he could see her expression was beginning to get nervous. He turned then, and scrambled down into the near-dark.
* * *
The Wolf didn't like being given so much more freedom yet so much more restriction. It resented the new arrangements made for it, and it positively hated the smell of humans around the house. To the wolf, everything in the building stank of humans, awakening its hunger without satisfying it.
* * *
Remus' eyelids fluttered as the cool, crisp light of a November dawn floated in through the charmed shutters on the nearest window. He was lying at the foot of the stairs, and he felt bruised all over. As always after it, his fingertips and nails throbbed, and his mouth felt full of splinters. He rolled over to his side and struggled to his feet, pieces of shattered wood and glass tinkling and clattering as they fell off him. He brushed himself down slowly, then looked at his palms; they were raw and torn, as usual. He groaned, and made for the old mirror in the hall of the house. When he got there, he found that there was only one piece left big enough to get any form of a reflection from. The pieces were all over the floor, and.Remus glanced sharply from his reflection to the back of his hand. "How come I didn't feel that?" He muttered, gingerly getting a grip on the shard. He gritted his teeth and gave it a little tug. Pain flared, and he drew his left hand away quickly with a cry of indigence. He tried again, this time going for one fast yank. However, he found this didn't work either, and doubled over at the pain. When he looked again, he saw that the piece was bigger than he had thought, and he had succeeded in pulling it out a bit. It was now streaked with his blood at the bottom. Madam Pomfrey was waiting anxiously for him at the entrance, a numbing potion ready in her hands. She hurried him to the infirmary, bustling him along to get him there before students began to wake up. She tucked Remus up in a screened bed and removed the piece of mirror from his hand with a quick spell, all the while clucking and complimenting him on his bravery. When she had finished attending to all his cuts and bruises that were bad enough to merit attention, Madam Pomfrey finally left him to sleep, casting one final pitying glance over her shoulder.
* * *
Remus woke up late in the afternoon and scurried quietly to the Gryffindor dormitory. "Patronum!" he whispered to the painting of the Fat Lady, desperate to get to the next lesson before anyone saw him. The door swung open and Remus charged up the stairs to the room he shared with James, Sirius and Peter. He threw the door open and ran to the trunk at the foot of his bed, a sense of urgency growing within him each second.
"Hey, Remus, what's the hurry?" Remus jumped so hard that the lid of his trunk slammed down on his fingers. "Argh! Peter? What on earth are you doing here?" "Well, I forgot my textbook for Potions, so Professor Trugin chased me out, and told me to go and get it, but I've lost it! I can't find it anywhere, Remus, you have to help me!" "Um." Remus said, sucking his bruised fingers and surveying the mess Peter had made on and around his bed by emptying his trunk out. "Is that it?" He asked, pointing with a swelling finger. "Wow, yeah! Remus you're a saviour! I'd never have seen that!" Peter pounced on the book. Then, however, his round joyful face transformed into a slightly suspicious and worried one as he studied his friend. "Where were you, Remus? Everyone was dead worried. James said you'd probably gone to see your Mum. Is she okay?" Remus fidgeted. "Uh.she'll be okay I think, Peter. Thanks for asking. Let's get to Potions, shall we? I don't want Trugin taking more points off Gryffindor because of us." So the two boys ran even faster back to the dungeons, and burst through the doors just as Trugin was about to express his displeasure at Peter's lack of organisation. And just as Sephine and Charlie's cauldron exploded. Peter, who had been the first to enter, got covered in a fluorescent yellow liquid, whereas Remus, who had been shielded by Peter, was saved the hassle. Sephine and Charlie were laughing too much for the potion to have just hit Peter though. Indeed, Remus saw that Trugin had got the worst of the explosion. Yellow slime dripped off his hooked nose and ran along his mono-brow. A huge glob was forming at his pointy chin, and his normally greasy hair now looked as though it had been in a frying pan. A strange noise came from his throat, but Sephine and Charlie couldn't hear it, because they were laughing so much. No one else laughed. They all waited to see what Trugin would do. Trugin opened his mouth wide, and drew a deep breath. "QUACK!!!" He bellowed. Sephine and Charlie burst out laughing harder than ever, and this time the rest of the class joined them. Peter turned round to the disbelieving Remus, nodding his head and laughing too. "Quack!" He exclaimed. Then in great surprise clapped his hands to his mouth. "Quack?" "QUA-AAAAAAAACK!" shouted Trugin. He almost achieved the silence he desired. "QUACK!" he yelled at Sephine and Charlie. "Quack, quack, quack! Quack!" Charlie managed to raise an eyebrow and stop his muffled giggles. "I'm s- sorry, Sir! I don't understand you!" "QUAAAAAAAAACK!" Trugin turned away from Charlie and Sephine and began rummaging in his cupboard, muttering "Quack, quack, quack. Quack, quack, quack," all the time to himself. He then started throwing ingredients into a cauldron, hastily preparing the antidote. Just as he was about to raise the cup of potion he'd brewed to his quivering lips, the school bell chimed. "Whoopee!" Charlie shouted, and he and Sephine dashed for the door, bags slung over shoulders. "Hey, Rem'!" Charlie clapped him on the shoulder as he raced past. "Nice to see you back, Rem'!" Sephine grinned, following Charlie, as Professor Trugin's shout of "WINTERS! COOKSON!" followed them out of the dungeon. Peter made his way tentatively towards Trugin. "Q-q-quack?" He asked. "Do you think you are being amusing?" Trugin screamed. "Get out! All of you!" "Quack!" Peter wailed. "Go away! The effects will wear off by tomorrow!" The Potions Master said irritably. "Hey! Remus! Where were you!" Sirius asked, bounding across the classroom, followed by James, Martin and Lily. "I, ah.I was just looking after my Mum for the night. She's not too good at the moment." Remus saw in the corner of his vision Trugin, who was eyeing him, a sly sneer spreading across his face. "Hey, I'm sorry, man." Martin said. "Hope she's feelin' better soon." "Yeah, me too, Rem'." James declared. "Hey, Remus. I hope you're okay, too?" Lily enquired. "Yeah I'm fine, thanks for asking, Lily." Sirius shook his head. "Gee, sorry, Rem'. Hope everything is okay." Remus nearly smiled in disbelief at the amount of concern he was being shown. If they knew really where I was, they wouldn't be so concerned. They'd have run right out that door like everyone else. "Everything's fine, Si'."