Disclaimer - You know the drill. You don't seriously think I created Harry Potter, do you? Give me a break, I'm not that smart. No, these characters are the sole property of J. Rowling and a number of publishing companies.
A/N - Glad to hear everyone's enjoying it J The last chapter was mostly in flashback as I'm sure you noticed, and now we're back to the main storyline. Keep on reviewin'! -Leaf
THE MORNING AFTER
"What'll it be tonight, Moony?" Sirius asked. "Chess? Exploding snap?"
"No," Remus said softly, his gaze fixed on the steadily darkening sky. It was routine by now - Sirius always offered a game, Remus always declined. It was so frightening, waiting for the full moon, and it didn't get any easier. Sirius had known he wouldn't play, he was just trying to calm him. Distract him. As though anything could.
James had brought along a set of marbles and was rolling them along the floor, aiming for a small crack in the baseboard. Remus tracked them with his eyes. James' aim was no good - more often than not, a marble would rebound off the baseboard and go shooting off in another direction - but Remus preferred watching his friend to looking for the moon. He fished around for something to say. "Did you bring the dungbombs?"
Silence. Sirius and James exchanged a significant look. Finally James spoke. "Uh, no, Moony, we didn't."
Remus started. "But…you've got to go! You can't stay here, I could transform at any moment, and without the dungbombs I'll smell you! Don't you know what could happen? Get out of here!" He was amazed at his friends' stupidity; how could they forget something as important as the dungbombs? They'd been doing this for over two years now, surely they couldn't have forgotten that once Remus transformed, they'd need to use the dungbombs to get out undetected?
It always worked the same way - his friends would sit with him and await the transformation. Once it began, the pain and the madness, they would hold him by his shoulders and hands, soothing him and reassuring him that it would soon be over. When the transformation was complete and the wolf had taken hold, they would use the dungbombs to cover their scent while they ran for the exit. It was risky, but up to now it had never failed.
But without the dungbombs, they wouldn't have a chance. The wolf could outrun them easily, and without the head start the temporary odor of the dungbombs provided, they'd be caught before they'd left the room.
Why was Sirius smiling like that? "What?" Remus asked suspiciously. "What aren't you telling me?"
Sirius continued to smile wickedly. Suddenly, without warning, his form began to shift. Remus stared in awe as his friend gradually took on the appearance of a large black dog. He turned to James for explanation, but in his place stood a gleaming, proud stag. "What the hell?" Remus murmured.
Suddenly something connected. "You didn't!"
In answer, the dog padded softly over to Remus and sat down beside him protectively. The stag circled them both, then presented its head to be patted.
"Oh my god," Remus breathed, taking it in. "I'd forgotten! You really did it! Oh, I can't believe this!" He knelt and threw his arms around the dog. Then he faced the stag. "Thank you so much…"
Perhaps Remus was about to begin a litany of gratitude, but Sirius and James never got to hear it. At that moment, the sky cleared and the moon rose.
Remus' eyes became a swirling, chaotic vortex. His entire body heaved, his mouth open in a silent cry of pain. His bones began to shift, reforming themselves into the shape of a wolf. Muscles stretched unnaturally, skin was pulled taut. Sirius, seeing his friend's pain, began to whimper and pressed his muzzle into Remus' hand, and shockingly, felt Remus squeeze. Was he aware of Sirius?
James had noticed, and nudged his head under the palm of Remus' other hand. Remus slid his hand to James' back and gripped fiercely. His face contorted into a miserable howl as his legs lengthened and fur began to sprout.
Sirius was distracted by a sharp pain. Remus' grip on his muzzle had been punctuated by the arrival of the wolf's claws, and they were digging into his face. He saw blood on the stag's back and knew the same thing had happened to James.
The transformation ended as suddenly as it had begun. The wolf removed its claws from the stag and the dog and sniffed. For a sickening moment, Sirius was afraid it would recognize the blood on his face as human and attack, but it only howled in frustration and settled in to gnaw at its own feet.
James had not seen this before, but Sirius had, and had known to expect it. He dived at the wolf and curled up atop its front paws, denying it access. The wolf, not to be deterred from its mission of drawing blood, threw Sirius off violently. He skidded across the room and headlong into the wall. Shaken but unhurt, he launched himself at the wolf and they met in midair. The wolf was angered now, and it scratched and bit at Sirius. The claws raked along his muzzle again, and he gasped at the pain. Before it registered, however, the wolf was gone, and Sirius knew the stag had entered the fight.
James had the wolf backed up to the wall and was holding it at bay with his powerful antlers. Sirius barked to get their attention and then took off into the lower part of the house. The wolf pursued him, but Sirius was pleased to see that as a dog he could outrun it. He led it around until he was exhausted, then ran back upstairs. James was waiting, and when the wolf entered he backed it up to the wall again.
The wolf appeared to have given up. It curled up beside the wall and began worrying at its foreleg with its teeth. Sirius felt his heart clench as he heart the delighted howls and agonized whimpers begin. He'd forgotten how horrible this was. He approached the wolf slowly. It looked up, saw him coming, and snarled. Sirius stopped but did not back away, and when the wolf returned to its leg he approached again. This time the wolf allowed him a bit closer before stopping him, and bit by bit Sirius made his way to the wolf's side. He lay down next to it. Then he reached over and gently put his paw on top of the wolf's paw.
It was a terrible risk and Sirius knew it. There was every chance the wolf would just snap his paw right off. He didn't know what made him do it, except that it hurt too much to stand by and watch his friend do this to himself. It made no difference that this wasn't really Remus - in a few hours it would be, and Remus would have to live with whatever this wolf did. The wolf looked up at him, and Sirius met its gaze calmly. Then something in the eyes shifted. The chaos cleared a little, and Sirius would later swear he'd nearly seen Remus looking out at him. The wolf relaxed, settled to the floor. James walked over and lay down on its other side. They stayed like that all night, surrounding Remus with care and love.
Sirius was dozing a little when he felt an antler poke him. He glanced over and saw that the wolf was gone. Remus was back. Sirius let himself transform as well, and saw that James had done the same. Then he noticed something else, something unbelievable - Remus was asleep.
As far as Sirius knew, Remus had never slept on the night of the full moon. He had always come out of his transformations lucid and in pain. Now, while his wrist was raw and bloody, he was much calmer than Sirius had ever seen him the morning after a transformation. He had a slightly concerned look on his face, as though he were having a troubling nightmare, but he was sleeping. It was surreal.
James had pulled some strips of cloth from his pocket and now began to clean and bind Remus' wrist. As he worked, Remus stirred, then opened his eyes a little. "James?" He whispered, his throat hoarse from howling. "What…what's going on…?"
James smoothed his hair. "It's okay, Moony. It's over."
"'S over?"
Sirius took Remus' other hand, the uninjured one, and rubbed gently. "That's right, it's all over."
"But…" Remus had seen Sirius' face. "You're hurt…"
James looked up. "He's right, mate, you're all scratched up. You ought to get up to the hospital wing."
Remus sat up suddenly. "Sirius! Did I…I did that, didn't I!" He grabbed his friend's arm, panicking. "I told you! I told you not to stay! You promised!" He was nearly in tears now. "You promised, Sirius," he cried. "I could've killed you! I could've bitten you!"
Overcome, Sirius pulled his friend close and let Remus cry on his shoulder. "Moony…relax, everything's okay. I was a dog all night, it wouldn't matter if you'd bitten me."
"It would matter!" Remus cried. "I couldn't stand it if I'd hurt you! And your face is all cut up and it's my fault!"
"Shhh…" Sirius soothed, rubbing his friend's back. "Calm down…shhh…it's okay now…it's all over…Moony, I'll be fine. We'll go together up to the hospital wing, I'll just say James and I crashed into each other flying or something. Our brooms scratched each other."
Rather than be comforted, Remus spun to face James. "You too?"
Reluctantly, James nodded. "Yeah, just a bit on my back."
"Show me," Remus demanded, and when James had slipped out of his shirt and Remus had seen the deep claw marks on his back he collapsed into a fresh round of sobs. Sirius held him close, desperate to comfort him.
"Moony?" He said, gently rubbing Remus' back. "Do you remember any of last night?"
"I…I remember…you guys were animagi…"
"That's right, and the wolf is only dangerous to humans. If you'd bitten us, it would be no worse than a dog bite. Do you remember anything after you transformed?"
"N..no…"
Sirius held him tight. "The wolf was calm, Moony. You lay down and didn't bite yourself and you let me and James lie there with you. And you fell asleep."
"I fell asleep?" Remus sounded disbelieving.
"You did," Sirius smiled at him.
"Then…how'd I hurt you guys?"
"You were hanging on to us while you transformed," James spoke up, "and when your claws came in you were still gripping pretty tight." He grinned. "And, of course, Sirius ran you ragged all over the house before he'd let you come back here and relax.
Remus was still tense; Sirius could feel it. "But I could've killed you…"
"No, you couldn't," James said firmly, meeting Remus' eyes. "We were both able to outrun you, and you didn't want to kill us anyway. You would've ignored us completely if we hadn't been trying to keep you from chewing your arm off."
Remus closed his eyes, and a solitary tear slid down his cheek. Then, finally, he relaxed into Sirius' embrace. James knelt beside him and wrapped his arms around them both. Sirius thought he might cry with relief - they'd finally found a way to help Remus, and it actually worked.
After several moments they disentangled. James stood, and Remus sat up, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. "Okay now?" Sirius asked with a grin.
"Yeah," Remus smiled back. "Okay now."
A/N - Glad to hear everyone's enjoying it J The last chapter was mostly in flashback as I'm sure you noticed, and now we're back to the main storyline. Keep on reviewin'! -Leaf
THE MORNING AFTER
"What'll it be tonight, Moony?" Sirius asked. "Chess? Exploding snap?"
"No," Remus said softly, his gaze fixed on the steadily darkening sky. It was routine by now - Sirius always offered a game, Remus always declined. It was so frightening, waiting for the full moon, and it didn't get any easier. Sirius had known he wouldn't play, he was just trying to calm him. Distract him. As though anything could.
James had brought along a set of marbles and was rolling them along the floor, aiming for a small crack in the baseboard. Remus tracked them with his eyes. James' aim was no good - more often than not, a marble would rebound off the baseboard and go shooting off in another direction - but Remus preferred watching his friend to looking for the moon. He fished around for something to say. "Did you bring the dungbombs?"
Silence. Sirius and James exchanged a significant look. Finally James spoke. "Uh, no, Moony, we didn't."
Remus started. "But…you've got to go! You can't stay here, I could transform at any moment, and without the dungbombs I'll smell you! Don't you know what could happen? Get out of here!" He was amazed at his friends' stupidity; how could they forget something as important as the dungbombs? They'd been doing this for over two years now, surely they couldn't have forgotten that once Remus transformed, they'd need to use the dungbombs to get out undetected?
It always worked the same way - his friends would sit with him and await the transformation. Once it began, the pain and the madness, they would hold him by his shoulders and hands, soothing him and reassuring him that it would soon be over. When the transformation was complete and the wolf had taken hold, they would use the dungbombs to cover their scent while they ran for the exit. It was risky, but up to now it had never failed.
But without the dungbombs, they wouldn't have a chance. The wolf could outrun them easily, and without the head start the temporary odor of the dungbombs provided, they'd be caught before they'd left the room.
Why was Sirius smiling like that? "What?" Remus asked suspiciously. "What aren't you telling me?"
Sirius continued to smile wickedly. Suddenly, without warning, his form began to shift. Remus stared in awe as his friend gradually took on the appearance of a large black dog. He turned to James for explanation, but in his place stood a gleaming, proud stag. "What the hell?" Remus murmured.
Suddenly something connected. "You didn't!"
In answer, the dog padded softly over to Remus and sat down beside him protectively. The stag circled them both, then presented its head to be patted.
"Oh my god," Remus breathed, taking it in. "I'd forgotten! You really did it! Oh, I can't believe this!" He knelt and threw his arms around the dog. Then he faced the stag. "Thank you so much…"
Perhaps Remus was about to begin a litany of gratitude, but Sirius and James never got to hear it. At that moment, the sky cleared and the moon rose.
Remus' eyes became a swirling, chaotic vortex. His entire body heaved, his mouth open in a silent cry of pain. His bones began to shift, reforming themselves into the shape of a wolf. Muscles stretched unnaturally, skin was pulled taut. Sirius, seeing his friend's pain, began to whimper and pressed his muzzle into Remus' hand, and shockingly, felt Remus squeeze. Was he aware of Sirius?
James had noticed, and nudged his head under the palm of Remus' other hand. Remus slid his hand to James' back and gripped fiercely. His face contorted into a miserable howl as his legs lengthened and fur began to sprout.
Sirius was distracted by a sharp pain. Remus' grip on his muzzle had been punctuated by the arrival of the wolf's claws, and they were digging into his face. He saw blood on the stag's back and knew the same thing had happened to James.
The transformation ended as suddenly as it had begun. The wolf removed its claws from the stag and the dog and sniffed. For a sickening moment, Sirius was afraid it would recognize the blood on his face as human and attack, but it only howled in frustration and settled in to gnaw at its own feet.
James had not seen this before, but Sirius had, and had known to expect it. He dived at the wolf and curled up atop its front paws, denying it access. The wolf, not to be deterred from its mission of drawing blood, threw Sirius off violently. He skidded across the room and headlong into the wall. Shaken but unhurt, he launched himself at the wolf and they met in midair. The wolf was angered now, and it scratched and bit at Sirius. The claws raked along his muzzle again, and he gasped at the pain. Before it registered, however, the wolf was gone, and Sirius knew the stag had entered the fight.
James had the wolf backed up to the wall and was holding it at bay with his powerful antlers. Sirius barked to get their attention and then took off into the lower part of the house. The wolf pursued him, but Sirius was pleased to see that as a dog he could outrun it. He led it around until he was exhausted, then ran back upstairs. James was waiting, and when the wolf entered he backed it up to the wall again.
The wolf appeared to have given up. It curled up beside the wall and began worrying at its foreleg with its teeth. Sirius felt his heart clench as he heart the delighted howls and agonized whimpers begin. He'd forgotten how horrible this was. He approached the wolf slowly. It looked up, saw him coming, and snarled. Sirius stopped but did not back away, and when the wolf returned to its leg he approached again. This time the wolf allowed him a bit closer before stopping him, and bit by bit Sirius made his way to the wolf's side. He lay down next to it. Then he reached over and gently put his paw on top of the wolf's paw.
It was a terrible risk and Sirius knew it. There was every chance the wolf would just snap his paw right off. He didn't know what made him do it, except that it hurt too much to stand by and watch his friend do this to himself. It made no difference that this wasn't really Remus - in a few hours it would be, and Remus would have to live with whatever this wolf did. The wolf looked up at him, and Sirius met its gaze calmly. Then something in the eyes shifted. The chaos cleared a little, and Sirius would later swear he'd nearly seen Remus looking out at him. The wolf relaxed, settled to the floor. James walked over and lay down on its other side. They stayed like that all night, surrounding Remus with care and love.
Sirius was dozing a little when he felt an antler poke him. He glanced over and saw that the wolf was gone. Remus was back. Sirius let himself transform as well, and saw that James had done the same. Then he noticed something else, something unbelievable - Remus was asleep.
As far as Sirius knew, Remus had never slept on the night of the full moon. He had always come out of his transformations lucid and in pain. Now, while his wrist was raw and bloody, he was much calmer than Sirius had ever seen him the morning after a transformation. He had a slightly concerned look on his face, as though he were having a troubling nightmare, but he was sleeping. It was surreal.
James had pulled some strips of cloth from his pocket and now began to clean and bind Remus' wrist. As he worked, Remus stirred, then opened his eyes a little. "James?" He whispered, his throat hoarse from howling. "What…what's going on…?"
James smoothed his hair. "It's okay, Moony. It's over."
"'S over?"
Sirius took Remus' other hand, the uninjured one, and rubbed gently. "That's right, it's all over."
"But…" Remus had seen Sirius' face. "You're hurt…"
James looked up. "He's right, mate, you're all scratched up. You ought to get up to the hospital wing."
Remus sat up suddenly. "Sirius! Did I…I did that, didn't I!" He grabbed his friend's arm, panicking. "I told you! I told you not to stay! You promised!" He was nearly in tears now. "You promised, Sirius," he cried. "I could've killed you! I could've bitten you!"
Overcome, Sirius pulled his friend close and let Remus cry on his shoulder. "Moony…relax, everything's okay. I was a dog all night, it wouldn't matter if you'd bitten me."
"It would matter!" Remus cried. "I couldn't stand it if I'd hurt you! And your face is all cut up and it's my fault!"
"Shhh…" Sirius soothed, rubbing his friend's back. "Calm down…shhh…it's okay now…it's all over…Moony, I'll be fine. We'll go together up to the hospital wing, I'll just say James and I crashed into each other flying or something. Our brooms scratched each other."
Rather than be comforted, Remus spun to face James. "You too?"
Reluctantly, James nodded. "Yeah, just a bit on my back."
"Show me," Remus demanded, and when James had slipped out of his shirt and Remus had seen the deep claw marks on his back he collapsed into a fresh round of sobs. Sirius held him close, desperate to comfort him.
"Moony?" He said, gently rubbing Remus' back. "Do you remember any of last night?"
"I…I remember…you guys were animagi…"
"That's right, and the wolf is only dangerous to humans. If you'd bitten us, it would be no worse than a dog bite. Do you remember anything after you transformed?"
"N..no…"
Sirius held him tight. "The wolf was calm, Moony. You lay down and didn't bite yourself and you let me and James lie there with you. And you fell asleep."
"I fell asleep?" Remus sounded disbelieving.
"You did," Sirius smiled at him.
"Then…how'd I hurt you guys?"
"You were hanging on to us while you transformed," James spoke up, "and when your claws came in you were still gripping pretty tight." He grinned. "And, of course, Sirius ran you ragged all over the house before he'd let you come back here and relax.
Remus was still tense; Sirius could feel it. "But I could've killed you…"
"No, you couldn't," James said firmly, meeting Remus' eyes. "We were both able to outrun you, and you didn't want to kill us anyway. You would've ignored us completely if we hadn't been trying to keep you from chewing your arm off."
Remus closed his eyes, and a solitary tear slid down his cheek. Then, finally, he relaxed into Sirius' embrace. James knelt beside him and wrapped his arms around them both. Sirius thought he might cry with relief - they'd finally found a way to help Remus, and it actually worked.
After several moments they disentangled. James stood, and Remus sat up, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. "Okay now?" Sirius asked with a grin.
"Yeah," Remus smiled back. "Okay now."