Thin, dirty fingers wrapped around the cold bars of its cell, its owner looking worse than it. Skinny and frail, he gave one last, wicked look to the wet floors and took to his transformation.

In a memory;

It was 1972, and James, Sirius, and Peter had gotten together and confronted Remus about him being a werewolf. Of couse, Remus denied his condition several times over, but finally they got to him. Finally he admitted it, after they followed him, his eyes yellowing as he neared the Whomping Willow, tears in his eyes as he begged them to GO before they were no more. Remus only ate meat during full moons, and he didn't know what he was doing during those times.

It was then that they decided to become Animagus, for Remus. To keep him company, to make it easier for the sickly-looking boy to get into the Whomping Willow. Remus looked healthy enough, sure. That is, until a few days before the full moon. They could even keep Remus from harming himself so much.

Finally, after years of hard work, the boys were in their fifth year. Even Peter, the more scatterbrained of the group was able to do it, albeit with loads of help from Sirius and James, who passed Transfiguration at the top of their form.

Peter, strangely enough, took on the shape of a rat. That made it easier to get to the Whomping Willow, as all they had to do was wait for Peter to scramble up and touch the knot of the ancient tree. It wasn't as inclined to killing a tiny rat as much as larger creatures.

James took on the shape of a stag, tall and proud as James himself ever was. He'd stare at the girl's dormitory, towards Gryffindor Tower, often hoping a certain redheaded girl would be looking down at him. On several occasions, he had his lucky night.

Sirius was a large, black dog. He looked a bit like the Grim, one of the darkest omens in the wizarding world. It was an omen of death. Occasionally, he'd go out to Hogsmeade in this form, as he never did get his permission slip signed. He wouldn't talk to his mum unless he had to, for the most obvious reasons. Once, a girl in the village tried to bring him home. He ran back to Hogwarts when there was talk about getting him neutered.

The thin man's body was overcome with fur, fleas occasionly popping off from the sudden change. Strange, really, watching the dark-haired man change into a dog. He silently sniffed the air, then slipped through the bars of the cell, lacking so much meat on his bones to do so.