"Remus is hiding something from me," Sol announced and she and her friends
lounged in the common room. The Marauders were nowhere to be seen.
"Well, what can you do? Men are born deceivers," Cassandra countered off- handedly.
"We'll ignore that fact for the moment and pretend that men weren't born to deceive. He's still hiding something from me."
"I know what she means," Lily broke in. "The Marauders are definitely not telling us something."
"So . . ."
"So, Cassandra my friend, aren't you suspicious at what it is? Aren't you wondering what it could be?" Lily asked, knowing her friend's mind.
"Well, maybe a little. But how do you suppose we go about discovering this little, dirty secret?"
"Yeah, how are we supposed to do this, Lily?" Sol asked, backing up Cassandra.
"Well, I heard James talking to Sirius and Peter about going out tonight. And when I came up to them, they stopped talking, so it's probably something they don't want us to know. Therefor, the 'little , dirty secret' that we have to uncover."
"Okay, Einstein, then what do you think we should do?" Cassandra questioned. But she had to admit that she was getting rather interested. And it was about time for an adventure.
"We follow them."
"Sounds like a plan. Let's do it!" Sol said enthusiastically.
"I'm in," Cassandra said, trying to sound reluctant, when inside her stomach was jumping in anticipation.
"Cool. Let's meet in here at eleven o'clock tonight." Although she sounded rather calm, she felt butterflies inside her stomach. She couldn't wait for the adventure.
"Aren't you afraid of ruining your rep, Head Girl?" Sol asked.
"I already have, by hanging out with you kids."
"Oh, Lily made a funny! My little girl made a joke," Cassandra said, wiping away an invisible tear that had suddenly appeared on her cheek. "This is the beginning of a new era."
"Oh, shush, you." Lily picked a pillow off of the couch and threw it at Cassandra. The look on her face was priceless! Cassandra looked as if she was torn between laughing and beating up Lily. She decided to go with both and threw the pillow back at her while laughing evilly.
"PILLOW FIGHT!" Sol yelled and happily joined in.
*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
"I have to go now, guys," Remus said to the gang. They were in the dormitory he shared with Peter, Sirius and once James.
"Okay, Remus. We'll meet you in the Shrieking Shack. Don't worry, we'll be there," James assured him.
"I know. I'll see you later." Everybody's eyes followed Remus until he left the room and shut the door behind him.
"He's real uptight."
"Thank you for the acute observation, Captain Obvious," James said to Sirius. "He's always uptight before he transforms."
"Yeah, I know that, James. He just seems more uptight than usual," Sirius replied irritably.
"I know what you mean, Padfoot," Peter added. "Tonight's not going to be pretty."
"I don't think so either, Wormtail. And he's going to miss Christmas, too." James got up and began pacing the room. "That totally sucks."
"Something else is on your mind, Prongs. What is it?" Sirius inquired.
"It's nothing."
"Yeah, right. As your best pal, I demand to know what you are thinking," Sirius announced with as much authority as possible. It seemed to have sounded good, because James stopped pacing and sat down. Or maybe James just wanted to get whatever it was out.
"Don't you think we should tell the girls?"
"What?! NO!"
"And why not?" James asked, looking directly into Sirius's eyes. Like a challenge.
"We can't! Hey, I may be stupid enough to fall in love with a girl like Cassandra, but-"
"Yes! You admitted it!" James screamed, jumping up and pointing at Sirius, who just sat there looking very confused and stupid, trying to figure out what he just admitted. "You admitted that you're in love with Cassandra!"
"What? No I didn't!" Sirius said, not believing James.
"Yes, you did, Padfoot. You said -"
"Oh, shut up, Wormtail. I know what I said. I just don't believe I said it."
"I knew this day would come! Oh, how the might have fallen!" James proclaimed with a huge smile on his face.
"It's not funny."
"Yes it is. And I know exactly how you feel, my friend."
"Really, do you?"
"Hurts, don't it?"
"Yeah, like all hell."
"Yeah, that's love all right." James stopped smiling and turned serious when he looked at the clock. "We better go. We don't want to keep Moony waiting." He made his way towards the door and Peter and Sirius silently followed him.
*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
"There they go, girls. Come on," Lily said as the Marauders passed her. Cassandra, Lily, and Sol stealthily followed James, Peter, and Sirius.
"I wonder where Remus is," Sol whispered.
"Shh. They might hear us," Cassandra whispered back. They made it out of Hogwarts without being seen by anyone, which wasn't exactly a difficult feat considering the fact that there were many places in which one could hide in Hogwarts. However, it was harder for the girls to conceal themselves on the grounds under the full moon. As they turned a corner, a giant tree came into view.
"It's a Whomping Willow," Lily whispered.
"A what?" Cassandra asked, risking being heard by the boys to learn what the hell her friend was talking about.
"A Whomping Willow. It literally hits people. There's a knot somewhere near the base of the tree that freezes up the branches."
"You pay way too much attention in Herbology."
"Shut up, Cassandra. What in the world are they doing?" The Marauders were just standing there in the moonlight, as if they were waiting for something. Then, maybe it was just a trick of the light or Lily seeing things, they started . . . changing. Sirius was going down on all fours and growing black hair all over his body, like a rather large dog. James was also on all fours and sprouting antlers, almost like a stag. And Peter was shrinking and growing a think tail. Like a rat. Lily saw a flash of something. A rat on the hospital floor. And gasped. James - the stage turned around and saw them. He immediately turned back to the person.
"J - James?"
"Lily? What are you doing here?"
"They - I - we followed you."
"Why?"
"Be - because - because -"
"Why did you follow us, Lily?" Sirius broke in. Both he and Peter were back in their human forms. And they looked furious.
"Because we needed an adventure and figured following you may prove . . . interesting," Cassandra said carelessly.
"Where's Remus?" Sol asked anxiously. The boys exchanged looks. "Where is he?"
"He's -"
"We can't say," Peter replied, quickly cutting off Sirius.
"James, where is he?" Lily asked and laid a hand on his arm. James gulped nervously and shook his head at Peter's warning eyes.
"He's in the Shrieking Shack."
"The Shrieking Shack? Why?!" Sol asked. "That place is-"
"Haunted? No, it isn't. That's just what everybody thinks."
"But the screams -"
"Those screams are Remus. That's Remus when he transforms."
"Transforms?"
"But we just saw you transform, and it didn't hurt. Did it?" Lily reasoned.
"Not that kind of transformation. We are Animagi."
"Remus is a werewolf," Sirius said, ignoring Peter's hiss of warning.
"A werewolf? How? When?" Sol asked as her face paled, obviously confused and frightened.
"We can't stay anymore. Remus needs us," Peter said quickly, looking for a reason to leave.
"You're right. We can't stay any longer. We have to go. We'll explain everything later, girls. Don't tell anyone," James pleaded.
"We won't," Lily assured.
"Promise?" James asked, looking at the three girls.
"I promise."
"I promise."
"I promise."
"Go to sleep, girls. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," they murmured, turned around, and began walking towards the school. Lily looked back once and saw the stag looking at her with James's eyes and the rat slithering through the branches. She fought back a shiver as she looked at the rat that was Peter. It reminded her of something. Something unpleasant. Something creepy. Something evil. Nobody said anything as they made their way to the dormitories. They said their goodnights and went to their beds. Lily stayed awake quite awhile, pondering over what had happened. Remus being a werewolf explained many, many things. He was always sick, and going out of school. He had said he had to visit his mother, or something like that, but now she knew the truth. And she felt pity. Poor Remus, Lily thought. It's so horrible that such a nice and kind person has to go through this grief. Poor Remus.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hey, readers! How is it? I don't think this one was especially fantastic, but I'm hoping that others will disagree. Please disagree with me! Is it just me, or the chapters keep getting shorter? Oh well. I'll update soon, so keep an eye out! In the meantime, review! Please, please, please, pretty please.
"Well, what can you do? Men are born deceivers," Cassandra countered off- handedly.
"We'll ignore that fact for the moment and pretend that men weren't born to deceive. He's still hiding something from me."
"I know what she means," Lily broke in. "The Marauders are definitely not telling us something."
"So . . ."
"So, Cassandra my friend, aren't you suspicious at what it is? Aren't you wondering what it could be?" Lily asked, knowing her friend's mind.
"Well, maybe a little. But how do you suppose we go about discovering this little, dirty secret?"
"Yeah, how are we supposed to do this, Lily?" Sol asked, backing up Cassandra.
"Well, I heard James talking to Sirius and Peter about going out tonight. And when I came up to them, they stopped talking, so it's probably something they don't want us to know. Therefor, the 'little , dirty secret' that we have to uncover."
"Okay, Einstein, then what do you think we should do?" Cassandra questioned. But she had to admit that she was getting rather interested. And it was about time for an adventure.
"We follow them."
"Sounds like a plan. Let's do it!" Sol said enthusiastically.
"I'm in," Cassandra said, trying to sound reluctant, when inside her stomach was jumping in anticipation.
"Cool. Let's meet in here at eleven o'clock tonight." Although she sounded rather calm, she felt butterflies inside her stomach. She couldn't wait for the adventure.
"Aren't you afraid of ruining your rep, Head Girl?" Sol asked.
"I already have, by hanging out with you kids."
"Oh, Lily made a funny! My little girl made a joke," Cassandra said, wiping away an invisible tear that had suddenly appeared on her cheek. "This is the beginning of a new era."
"Oh, shush, you." Lily picked a pillow off of the couch and threw it at Cassandra. The look on her face was priceless! Cassandra looked as if she was torn between laughing and beating up Lily. She decided to go with both and threw the pillow back at her while laughing evilly.
"PILLOW FIGHT!" Sol yelled and happily joined in.
*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
"I have to go now, guys," Remus said to the gang. They were in the dormitory he shared with Peter, Sirius and once James.
"Okay, Remus. We'll meet you in the Shrieking Shack. Don't worry, we'll be there," James assured him.
"I know. I'll see you later." Everybody's eyes followed Remus until he left the room and shut the door behind him.
"He's real uptight."
"Thank you for the acute observation, Captain Obvious," James said to Sirius. "He's always uptight before he transforms."
"Yeah, I know that, James. He just seems more uptight than usual," Sirius replied irritably.
"I know what you mean, Padfoot," Peter added. "Tonight's not going to be pretty."
"I don't think so either, Wormtail. And he's going to miss Christmas, too." James got up and began pacing the room. "That totally sucks."
"Something else is on your mind, Prongs. What is it?" Sirius inquired.
"It's nothing."
"Yeah, right. As your best pal, I demand to know what you are thinking," Sirius announced with as much authority as possible. It seemed to have sounded good, because James stopped pacing and sat down. Or maybe James just wanted to get whatever it was out.
"Don't you think we should tell the girls?"
"What?! NO!"
"And why not?" James asked, looking directly into Sirius's eyes. Like a challenge.
"We can't! Hey, I may be stupid enough to fall in love with a girl like Cassandra, but-"
"Yes! You admitted it!" James screamed, jumping up and pointing at Sirius, who just sat there looking very confused and stupid, trying to figure out what he just admitted. "You admitted that you're in love with Cassandra!"
"What? No I didn't!" Sirius said, not believing James.
"Yes, you did, Padfoot. You said -"
"Oh, shut up, Wormtail. I know what I said. I just don't believe I said it."
"I knew this day would come! Oh, how the might have fallen!" James proclaimed with a huge smile on his face.
"It's not funny."
"Yes it is. And I know exactly how you feel, my friend."
"Really, do you?"
"Hurts, don't it?"
"Yeah, like all hell."
"Yeah, that's love all right." James stopped smiling and turned serious when he looked at the clock. "We better go. We don't want to keep Moony waiting." He made his way towards the door and Peter and Sirius silently followed him.
*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
"There they go, girls. Come on," Lily said as the Marauders passed her. Cassandra, Lily, and Sol stealthily followed James, Peter, and Sirius.
"I wonder where Remus is," Sol whispered.
"Shh. They might hear us," Cassandra whispered back. They made it out of Hogwarts without being seen by anyone, which wasn't exactly a difficult feat considering the fact that there were many places in which one could hide in Hogwarts. However, it was harder for the girls to conceal themselves on the grounds under the full moon. As they turned a corner, a giant tree came into view.
"It's a Whomping Willow," Lily whispered.
"A what?" Cassandra asked, risking being heard by the boys to learn what the hell her friend was talking about.
"A Whomping Willow. It literally hits people. There's a knot somewhere near the base of the tree that freezes up the branches."
"You pay way too much attention in Herbology."
"Shut up, Cassandra. What in the world are they doing?" The Marauders were just standing there in the moonlight, as if they were waiting for something. Then, maybe it was just a trick of the light or Lily seeing things, they started . . . changing. Sirius was going down on all fours and growing black hair all over his body, like a rather large dog. James was also on all fours and sprouting antlers, almost like a stag. And Peter was shrinking and growing a think tail. Like a rat. Lily saw a flash of something. A rat on the hospital floor. And gasped. James - the stage turned around and saw them. He immediately turned back to the person.
"J - James?"
"Lily? What are you doing here?"
"They - I - we followed you."
"Why?"
"Be - because - because -"
"Why did you follow us, Lily?" Sirius broke in. Both he and Peter were back in their human forms. And they looked furious.
"Because we needed an adventure and figured following you may prove . . . interesting," Cassandra said carelessly.
"Where's Remus?" Sol asked anxiously. The boys exchanged looks. "Where is he?"
"He's -"
"We can't say," Peter replied, quickly cutting off Sirius.
"James, where is he?" Lily asked and laid a hand on his arm. James gulped nervously and shook his head at Peter's warning eyes.
"He's in the Shrieking Shack."
"The Shrieking Shack? Why?!" Sol asked. "That place is-"
"Haunted? No, it isn't. That's just what everybody thinks."
"But the screams -"
"Those screams are Remus. That's Remus when he transforms."
"Transforms?"
"But we just saw you transform, and it didn't hurt. Did it?" Lily reasoned.
"Not that kind of transformation. We are Animagi."
"Remus is a werewolf," Sirius said, ignoring Peter's hiss of warning.
"A werewolf? How? When?" Sol asked as her face paled, obviously confused and frightened.
"We can't stay anymore. Remus needs us," Peter said quickly, looking for a reason to leave.
"You're right. We can't stay any longer. We have to go. We'll explain everything later, girls. Don't tell anyone," James pleaded.
"We won't," Lily assured.
"Promise?" James asked, looking at the three girls.
"I promise."
"I promise."
"I promise."
"Go to sleep, girls. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," they murmured, turned around, and began walking towards the school. Lily looked back once and saw the stag looking at her with James's eyes and the rat slithering through the branches. She fought back a shiver as she looked at the rat that was Peter. It reminded her of something. Something unpleasant. Something creepy. Something evil. Nobody said anything as they made their way to the dormitories. They said their goodnights and went to their beds. Lily stayed awake quite awhile, pondering over what had happened. Remus being a werewolf explained many, many things. He was always sick, and going out of school. He had said he had to visit his mother, or something like that, but now she knew the truth. And she felt pity. Poor Remus, Lily thought. It's so horrible that such a nice and kind person has to go through this grief. Poor Remus.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hey, readers! How is it? I don't think this one was especially fantastic, but I'm hoping that others will disagree. Please disagree with me! Is it just me, or the chapters keep getting shorter? Oh well. I'll update soon, so keep an eye out! In the meantime, review! Please, please, please, pretty please.