Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, events and/or places that are recognized as being written and created by J.K. Rowling. J.K. Rowling owns all the characters and places from the Harry Potter books including the ones used in this story.
Clea walked and walked without one clear thought entering her mind. She felt dizzy and she felt sick to her stomach. "Remus is a werewolf," she said out loud to herself, knowing she was all alone. "That handsome, smart, nice boy...is a monster."
She flopped down unto one of the couches in the Slytherin common room. She couldn't even remember how she actually got there. All she remembered was leaving her friends in the entrance hall and then darkness.
Clea sighed loudly and curled herself up on the couch. She starred at the fire lost in thought. She kept thinking about every moment she ever spent with Remus since the moment she met him six years ago. It was obvious. Something was always different about him. Clea couldn't forgive herself for not figuring it out, for being so blind.
Tears ran down her cheeks, as she cried without making one sound. She was crying for Remus. She felt sad for him. She wanted to hold him and tell him it was ok; that he had her, and they could be together forever, werewolf or not.
She closed her eyes and then snapped them open, looking directly at the window that was placed high near the ceiling of the common room. It was level with the ground and the snow had plastered itself against it. Clea was only able to make out a sliver of dark blue that resembled the night sky. Then she got an idea.
Clea bolted out of the Slytherin common room and made her way back to the entrance hall.
She peered up the stairs into the hall. It was empty. She climbed the rest of the staircase. She could hear loud music pulsating out of the Great Hall; the ball only began two and a half hours ago, so of course it was still going strong. Clea walked briskly but quietly to the entrance door. She pushed on it and to her surprise it opened.
"Not even a locking spell? What great security we have here at Hogwarts." whispered Clea, as she slipped out of the door. She closed it behind her and looked around the grounds. It was dark and cold. She was scared. She looked down at herself. She never noticed that she was still dressed in her formal dress robes. I should've grabbed a jacket.
Clea walked down the stairs towards the Whomping Willow. Once she got close enough, she stood on a ledge and starred at the tree, tempting it to open its secret door.
"I'm not going to try and get in there," she said, reassuring her own nerves. "But I am going to wait here, wait all night; for Remus."
Clea wrapped her arms around herself. She looked at her surroundings and saw a large bush and sat down next to it, hoping to find some sort of warmth. After she realized it wasn't working and that she was going to die from the cold, she reached under her dress and pulled her wand out. She had it hidden on her thigh, held there by a pink garter that she knew would never be touched by Snape; because if he tried she would have murdered him herself. She waved it in front of her, and a fire sprang to life. She felt the warmth from the fire on her face.
Clea curled her legs up into her body and wrapped her arms around her knees. She leaned her back against the bush, not caring that she was being pricked by a million thorns. She gazed up at the sky. It was almost midnight. The sky was perfectly clear and littered with a million stars. Clea began naming all the stars and constellations to pass the time, when her eyes fell on the bright full moon.
She stared at it, her eyes blurring, willing her to blink. But she kept them on the moon, taking in every crater, every line. It was beautiful; silvery blue and shining brightly. How could something so beautiful cause someone so much suffering?
After what felt like an hour or two, Clea began to feel the weight of tiredness fall heavily over her body. She longed for her comfortable bed and the warmth of her blankets. She fought off the urge to fall asleep with thoughts of Remus. Her thoughts began to blur into dreams. A sudden sound snapped her back to reality.
Muffled voices broke the silence of the grounds. They sounded far away, but were rapidly coming closer. Clea pulled her wand out and with a wave she put the fire out. She scrunched herself up as close to the bush as possible.
"All right, let's go see him." Clea knew that voice immediately; it was Sirius. "You know what to do Wormtail."
Wormtail? Who is Wormtail? Thought Clea; soon her question was answered however. Clea's breath caught in her throat as she watched Peter go from being human to rat. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she saw the rat version of Peter scurry over to the Whomping Willow that was shaking its angry fist-like branches around. Peter climbed up onto one of the tree's roots, and it automatically froze.
"You first Padfoot," said James. Clea had to clasp her hands over her mouth to stop herself from screaming at what she saw next. Sirius had transformed into a large black dog. Clea couldn't comprehend what was going on.
Sirius...my brother...who I know in and out.....is an animagi? Since when?
Clea watched as the dog ran towards the tree and leapt down the large hole that had reappeared at the bottom of the Willow.
Clea's mouth dropped, as James transformed also. He became the most beautiful stag she had ever seen. James made his way to the hole as well, and after he entered into the Willow, Peter followed him and the door closed.
"Did I really just see all that? Or am I dreaming?" Clea shook her head vigorously and rubbed her eyes. When she reopened them, the only difference in front of her was that everything was now a little blury. She wasn't sleeping, she was awake; wide awake actually. Nothing short of a sleeping spell was going to make her fall asleep now.
