Disclaimer- Wow I've made it to chapter twenty-five! –confetti- And, of course, I still don't own Harry Potter. Characters I have created, but have given all rights to J.K. Rowling because they just wouldn't be the same without the world of Harry Potter (the only exception being I claim Professor Azalea Wolcosh's name because it's the name of my main character in my book I'm writing though I assure you MY Azalea is nothing like Professor Wolcosh) are: Evan Arrindell, Jacqueline Brevard, Myles Konen, Isabella Meadows, Isolda Norcross, Montgomery Spatterwood, Azalea Wolcosh, Nicola Landon, Mr. Dervish and Mr. Banges (owners of Dervish and Banges), Deidra Lennox, Faye Edstrom, Aunt Eulalia, Julia Underwood, Elaine Warwick, Jon Marshalls, Cecilia Waters, Gabrielle Ericksson, Peregrine Oldham, Aileen Worthing, Maude, Fiona, Holly the house-elf, Liam Vance, Charles Burton, Myra Aisley, "Aunt Cauldra", and Remus's invisible friend Roger! Yay! I disclaim them all!
Authoress's Note- Wow it's been a while, hasn't it? -blushes- Well I feverishly worked on this chapter Saturday night, but just my luck, it wouldn't upload for me! Now I've finally gotten around to putting it up! I am extremely proud of this chapter because I worked hard to get the mood right. I'm warning you before hand, this chapter is DARK. And I don't mean like chapter twenty-three's Voldemort's first attack bit dark, I mean drama, angst, whatever you want to call it dark. I ease you into it with a little ever present Marauder humor, but I really wanted to do this chapter well and, once you start reading, you'll realize why this chapter has such a dark mood. As I said, I'm very proud of this chapter and I hope you all like it. E.D.J.
Thank you's!
I-Confuse-Everyone- Glad you liked the chapter!
DarkKestrelArwenSilkeQueen- Ah yes, I got the inspiration for the enchanted severed hand in Sirius's Mum's closet from the Hand of Glory in Chamber of Secrets, but I don't believe it's quite the same thing. It's more just some severed limb that's got a charm placed on it, so it scuttles around. Like in the Adams's Family!
ThelovelyladyLily- Yes I enjoyed Remus's invisible friend Roger too. He's quite nice actually. Very polite. -grins-
Romulan Empress- Making people burst into to hysterical laughter with their parents around is what I'm here for. ;-)
magiclover53- Wow, I can't believe you read this all in one sitting! It's getting so long! You're dedicated! Thanks! Yes Sirius is the ever dreamy dolt as well!
PureWhiteLilly- Yes, sadly, Sirius WOULD forget he hada charm on him, wouldn't he? -shakes head- Sucha simple bloke, innit he? Gotta love him to pieces.
Black Emerald Dawn- I'm glad you liked the chapter!
Serena van der Woodsen- I'm so glad you started reading! Darn, I've got you feeling sorry for Peter. Oh well, he's got to have some 'redeeming qualities' to make him a Marauder in the first place. -sighs- AhHestia Jones islater a member of the Order ofthe Phoenix andI believe she waspart of the group thatcame to take Harryto Number Twelve Grimmauld Place inOrder of the Phoenix as well. YesEm isgreatand quite admirable as well that she can hurtBella andthink about Remus at the same time! Tee hee! I love Emmeline, she'sjust wonderful. Particularly in mySummerwith the Arrogant Prat fic. -nudges- Read that too! Such a nag, aren't I? I'm glad you love how I write Sirius too! He's always incredibly fun to write.
Ch. 25- Suspicions Continue to Grow
"Merlin, it's good to be back!" sighed Sirius, throwing himself onto his old bed. "No more evil Mum, no more evil Dad, no more bratty brother, no more effing house elf-"
"Sirius, we get the picture," murmured Remus tiredly, chucking a pillow Sirius's way. "Can you shut your mouth for just once?"
Sirius paused and looked thoughtfully before slowly saying, "No, Remmy, I don't believe I can." He then burst out singing Celestina Warbeck's hit 'Bewitched Heart' at the top of his lungs.
James threw a pair of socks at Sirius who promptly threw them back. James ducked effectively. "Sirius, you could take over the world with a voice like yours."
"Why thank you, James."
"I mean, really. People would simply be running in terror. It would be chaos. They'd just beg for mercy."
"Stuff it, James," murmured Sirius. "Stuff it right up your-"
"Sirius, chocolate!" said Peter, waving a Chocolate Frog in front of his friend's face.
Sirius lunged for the Frog and devoured it in seconds, successfully distracted from killing James. "Anything else, Peter?"
Peter shook his head and Sirius went to pouting over the lack of sweets in the boys' dormitory. He really would have to stock up that hoard he usually kept under his bed. A few trips through the mirror on the fourth floor to the sweet shop, Honeyduke's, and he'd be sent for the next term.
"So how are we set for prank ideas?" whispered James, shooting a glance at Frank who was sleeping soundly in his bed.
The other three Marauders scurried over to James, so they could talk quietly without disturbing Frank.
"I have a number of ideas thought up," said Sirius, grinning wickedly.
"As do I," said Remus, a grin identical to Sirius's plastered across his face.
"Me too," said James, nodding.
They all looked expectantly at Peter who turned red and muttered that he was never able to think of good ideas, but thought all their ideas would be brilliant just the same. James, Sirius, and Remus nodded and looked quite smug.
"Alright, when?" muttered Sirius.
"Well, on the twenty-eighth I have to… go see my mother," supplied Remus, shifting a little uncomfortably.
"How do you know ahead of time when she's going to be deathly ill?" asked James suspiciously.
"I don't!" said Remus rather defensively. "It's er… my mum's birthday on the twenty-eighth and Dumbledore gave me permission to go see her then."
"But didn't you visit her for her birthday last April?" said Sirius, confusion etched across his face.
"No!" said Remus quickly. "That was her erm… half-birthday!"
"Oh," said Sirius quietly, not thoroughly convinced. He knew for a fact that someone whose birthday was in September would not have a half-birthday in April, but rather in March, six months after the person's actual birthday. But, he said nothing else, kept quiet as the four of them went to their own beds and drifted off to sleep. Sirius himself would not being the only wandering off into to fitful dreams.
Remus knew where he was. He'd been here so many times before in his dreams the place almost didn't seem so frightening, so fearsome. Almost.
He stood in the midst of a tall, dark forest, surrounded by the knotted trunks of ancient trees, long past their prime. The sky was gloomy, almost as black as the forest though tiny pricks of light shone among the storm-grey clouds. As he watched, the clouds shifted, bathing the trees in pale, silvery moonlight. A full moon shimmered above the forest, colorless and lonely.
Remus glanced down at his hands. Yes, as always, they were tiny. The hands of a mere child, barely older than six. His hands were scratched from scrambling through the trees, branches whipping at him as he ran.
His parents had warned him of the dangers that lurked in those ancient trees, banshees, centaurs, hinkypunks, creatures who didn't take kindly to many wizards who stumbled across them. It was even whispered that a werewolf or two had been heard howling among the trees every so often. People avoided the forest like the plague, only entering it armed with their wands and never alone or off the beaten path.
Remus had heard his parents' warnings andminded them, but on that particular afternoon, a friend's older, Hogwarts-age brothers had offered to take the two smaller boys to see the 'brilliant' cave they had discovered only a short distance off the path. The offer had been too tempting for the young boys to resist. They had never been allowed into the forest and they were sure the two older boys were capable of rescuing them if they did meet any trouble. They were, after all, already at Hogwarts learning how to practice magic. Clearly, the two younger boys had no idea that there was a Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry and that Remus's friend's brothers were no more capable of coming up against a dangerous creature than a pair of Flobberworms.
Everything had gone fine for the first few hours. The boys had laughed and explored every niche of the small cave until they all came to the conclusion that they were bored. Remus had suggested going back home for some Quidditch, but the other three boys wanted to wander around the forest a bit more to see if they could discover any other interesting things. Remus reluctantly agreed and he had heeded the older boys' warnings to keep close to the cave until he had seen the frog, that damn frog, sitting on a boulder.
Curiously, he had slowly inched toward it and then lunged. He missed by a finger's width and the frog, surprised, had darted into the tall grass. Remus chased after it, lunging for it and having it wriggle through his fingers once again. He quite enjoyed the chase before, finally, out of breath, he had stopped and leaned against a tree.
Tentatively, he had glanced around. This place didn't look familiar. He spun around, trying to remember which way he had come. Panic rising up within him, Remus gave a shout. No answer. He shouted again. Still no answer. He had shouted again and again, but still no reassuring reply came. Feeling tears prickle his eyes, Remus had realized he was lost, lost in the dark forest his parents had warned him so feverishly about. Losing his head completely, he had ran through the trees in no apparent direction, hoping to find some trace of his friends or perhaps even the edge of the forest.
Remus had no such luck. It had even seemed as if the trees were getting thicker, not thinning out as they normally would when one nears the edge. And now, here he was, stuck in this godforsaken place, waiting to be consumed by his fear or by some other terrible creature. His stomach ached and Remus had long run out of tears. He prayed that someone would find him soon before something else did. Unfortunately, it was the something else that discovered him first.
Remus whirled around as a loud crack sounded behind him. He saw nothing but blackness, but, just the same, he backed away from the place where the sound had come from. Another crackling of underbrush came and Remus breathed deeply, willingly it to be a rabbit or a fox. He continued to move backward, farther and farther away from the source of the noise, but it kept advancing on him, maybe playing with him even. Perhaps it knew as he knew that these could be his last precious moments. Finally, Remus found himself with his back against a thick tree, too tired and too frightened to go on. The noises seemed to have stopped too and he breathed a sigh of relief.
It was too soon. A menacing grey shape emerged stealth-like from among the leaves and stopped, yellow eyes gleaming up at him. It was a wolf, but not like any wolf he had ever seen. It was a mass of shaggy grey fur and was easily twice the size of a normal wolf. Its sharp, yellowed teeth were a terrible inch and a half long and its claws were the same if not longer.
Remus stared at the werewolf, terrified. What he wouldn't give to be home, safe in bed instead of stranded outside in the dark with a werewolf nearly at his throat! The werewolf continued to look at him with its yellow eyes, slavering quietly, and all Remus could do was stare back at it, sweat dripping down the back of his neck.
After a few minutes, a low growl erupted from its throat and, with a howl, it lunged at him. Remus dodged and the werewolf hit the tree he had been up against with a yelp of pain. Quickly picking itself off the ground, it dove for him again and he yelled and darted into the trees as fast as his short legs could carry him. The werewolf gave chase, howling as it charged through the trees after him.
Remus continued to run and barely noticed as sharp branches slashed at his face and arms. He simply kept going, knowing what would await him if he stopped. After it felt as if he'd run a marathon or perhaps even two, Remus collapsed on the ground, gasping. Seconds later, he was still very much alive. Where was the werewolf? Why wasn't it killing him right about now? Had he actually outrun it?
Remus glanced around, and, to his shock, the trees looked noticeably thinner. He was the near the edge of the forest. With a whoop of glee, he scrambled to his feet. That whoop was all it needed. The werewolf barreled out of the dark and Remus screamed as its jaws enveloped his leg. He collapsed and stared, transfixed, at the dark blood that edged the werewolf's jaws and dripped down his skin.
He gave a whimper of pain and, for some odd reason, the werewolf's crushing jaws seemed to be loosening. Dazed, Remus watched the werewolf back away from him and collapse a few feet away from where he himself lay. The clouds had drifted across the moon, hiding its terrible light. When he glanced back at the werewolf, he saw it had changed to a shaggy, slightly humanoid shape huddled on the ground. The shape gave a cry of what must have been pain before Remus himself blacked out.
Someone was shaking him. "REMUS! REMUS! FOR MERLIN'S SAKE, REMUS! WAKE UP! PLEASE WAKE UP!" pleaded a voice.
"Wha…?" muttered Remus, opening his eyes.
Sirius was looming over him, his face stark white. "Merlin, Remus! Don't ever do that again! That was bloody scary that was!" gasped Sirius, releasing the grip he had on Remus's shoulders.
"What are you talking about?" asked Remus tentatively, suddenly realizing how cold and sick he felt from the dream.
"You mean you don't know?" said Sirius, wide-eyed. "Didn't you wonder why your sheets are so mangled? You were thrashing and moaning like no tomorrow, almost like you were trying to escape something."
"Yeah…" said Remus, shifting uncomfortably.
"And you were…" Sirius faltered. "I don't know, howling or something. That's what woke me up. I'm surprised these two didn't wake up it was so loud." He motioned at James and Peter's sleeping forms.
"Yeah, er… sorry about that," said Remus sheepishly. "Nightmare."
"It must have been something bloody scary!" said Sirius, raising an eyebrow. "What exactly were you dreaming about?"
"Oh well, I don't really remember," lied Remus.
"Are you sure?" asked Sirius.
"Yes, Sirius! Of course I'm sure! Why wouldn't I be? It was my dream after all! Now sod off so I can go back to sleep!" snapped Remus, his voice having a lot more bite than he'd meant it to.
"Bite my head off why don't you," murmured Sirius, standing up. "I was only trying to help."
"Well I don't need your help!" snarled Remus. "I am fully capable of handling my problems without you! I've had them longer than you know and I know enough to deal with them myself!"
"Fine! Keep your secrets! I don't care!" hissed Sirius, his hands bunched into fists by now. "Good night."
Remus immediately yanked the curtains around his four-poster bed shut, fuming, but not over what Sirius had said. Sirius had ever right to be suspicious when he was friends with a… a… Remus couldn't bring himself to think of an appropriate word for what he was. A werewolf? A liar? No, he was a monster and he didn't deserve to have friends like Sirius who he could one day end up attacking. James, Sirius, and Peter could never know what he was. They would surely abandon him, leave him alone, an outcast, werewolf, freak. That was what he would always be at home ever since he'd been found lying in a pool of his own blood at the forest edge with the telltale bite around his leg. He still had the faint white scar, the mark that gave him away for what he was. His former friends had been warned to stay away from him and it had been a surprise to everyone, especially to Remus, that he had even been accepted to Hogwarts. The neighbors had muttered darkly over whether to send their own children to the school when a werewolf would be attending, a few had even done it, choosing to educate their children at home. Didn't they realize it wasn't something he had done on purpose? He hadn't wanted to be bitten, he hadn't wanted to be stared at and whispered about. Remus had made a mistake and now it would haunt him, curse him, for the rest of his days.
So... that was a bit of a different mood for Seven Years of Marauding, wasn't it? I do believe I was shaking when I finishedtyping. A more in-depth look at Remus, wouldn't you say so? -huggles Remus because of what he's gone through- I'm sorry it's a bit short, but I didn't want to go into a bunch of humor after all that. It's key to the other three Marauders discovering Remus is a werewolf. I promise the humor will be back in the next chapter! Please tell me what you think! E.D.J.