Chapter 6 Rabid Creatures
It was now 6 PM and James and Peter were waiting for Sirius in their dormitory; Peter fidgeting about nervously and James alternating glances out the window at the steadily darkening sky with checking his watch.
Though they had done it before, none of the Marauders fancied taking their monthly full moon excursions without each other. If Sirius didn't show soon, James and Peter would have to go to the Shrieking Shack alone, and, though James would never say it, he didn't much fancy taking on Remus in werewolf form with only Peter for assistance.
Madam Pomfrey and Remus should have gone to the Shack nearly a half- hour ago and Remus would begin his actual transformation soon. It was time to go; none of them liked to leave Remus on his own during his extremely painful lycanthropy. James moved away from the window and collected the Marauder's Map and his invisibility cloak from his bed.
"C'mon, Wormtail, Sirius'll catch up," James urged as he pulled out his wand. He tapped his wand on the map and said: "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Instantly lines of ink began to form on the parchment. Peter came over to study the map with James.
"Damn! Peeves is right by the statue!" Peter exclaimed.
"Don't wet yourself over it, Wormtail," came a familiar, if unexpected, reply.
James and Peter jumped, then spun around. "Padfoot!" James exclaimed, his grin spreading from ear to ear. "About bloody time you got here. We were about to leave without you."
"How'd you get out?" Peter asked breathlessly, as though he expected Sirius' tale of getting out of detention to involve planted explosives and an extraction team of Hit Wizards.
Sirius shrugged. "Turns out Colander was pretty impressed that I'd managed to make a Dissolution Solution at all, so she let me off rather easy after a dire warning about the evils of abusing potions and made me promise not to do it again."
All three snorted at that last statement. "Shall we?" James asked, holding open the door. They hurried down the stairs and out of Gryffindor Tower, stopping in the corridor just outside, where James pulled out his invisibility cloak. The three boys squeezed under it - a feat that became more and more difficult as they grew older and taller - for the most dangerous part of the trip, the part from inside the castle to the Whomping Willow, where they could safely transform.
The three made their slow and careful way down the stairs to the corridor below, where a secret passage would take them outside of the castle.
"Wormtail," hissed Sirius, "you have got to lose some weight, mate. We barely fit under this thing."
"Shhh!" James whispered.
"There's no need to be such a wanker about it," huffed Peter. "And if you stand on my foot again -"
"Look, you lot," James said as loudly as he dared. "If you don't stop bickering and shut up I'll toss you both out for Filch to catch."
"Sorry, Dad," Sirius quipped. "And will you turn this cloak around too?"
That little remark earned him a fulminating glare from James as well as a kick in the shin.
"Ouch!" Sirius exclaimed, glaring back at James. Finally the trio reached the right statue and, murmuring the password, entered the passageway without further incident - they were too good at this little game after so much practice - and pulled off the cloak for the time being.
Finally in front of the Whomping Willow, James threw off the cloak again. Glancing quickly round one last time to make sure no one could see them, James, Sirius, and Peter faced the tree and closed their eyes.
James focused all of his concentration on transforming into his Animagus form, a stag. After nearly a year of doing it, he still felt a thrill of anticipation run down his spine whenever he transformed. Part of it was the danger; the penalty for being an unregistered Animagus was a sentence in Azkaban, but another part was something else entirely.
James sensed the familiar blue-white glow of the transformation, indicating that one of the others, probably Peter, had already transformed. After another fraction of a second, James shifted as well.
It was an odd feeling, being an animal. James never felt so in tune with his body or with the world around him as he did when he was Prongs. Everything physical was heightened; he could see through the brush to Hagrid the gamekeeper's hut with astonishing clarity, could hear perfectly the scratching noises that Peter in his rat form was making, could smell Madam Pomfrey's peculiar scent of antiseptic and chocolate in the air though she had been there nearly half an hour ago. He also felt as though he could almost fly, so quick were his reactions and so fluid and effortless were his movements.
Mentally, James was almost exactly as he was in human form. He retained his same powers of perception and analysis, minus the ability to speak, of course, but emotionally it was a different story. The trivial little worries and insecurities that concerned a human were nonexistent in animal form. James was on a much more even keel emotionally; he was not easily upset or disconcerted. He thought less about abstract things and focused more on his instincts and what was around him instead of what people, especially a certain girl, thought of him.
Life was so much simpler and more carefree when you were an animal.
* * *
Quickly Wormtail, followed closely by Padfoot and Prongs, crouched through the passage in the Whomping Willow and hurried along the long, steep tunnel that led to the Shrieking Shack. They were still quite far away when they began to hear the screams of pure agony. Quickly Prongs and Padfoot exchanged a glance. No matter how many times they heard it, it was always horrible to hear those sounds and to have the knowledge that they were coming from their friend Remus.
By the time they reached the Shrieking Shack, Remus' transformation was complete and in his place was a snarling, vicious werewolf that lunged toward the first thing that entered the room, in this case Padfoot.
The werewolf and the dog wrestled about for a few minutes, Wormtail scuttling out of their path, before Prongs intervened, prodding Moony with his horns. The werewolf yelped and retreated with a snarl, still snapping at them and foaming at the mouth. Prongs and Padfoot exchanged yet another glance; even in animal form the pair exuded a sense of mischief. They had planned this full moon adventure, as they had the last two, with the greatest enthusiasm, fully aware that at such times they were virtually unstoppable. No one at Hogwarts knew their secrets; they wouldn't suspect them of being in animal form and even if they did, no one would dare approach them with a fully-grown werewolf in tow.
It was a heady feeling.
Prongs and Padfoot began to herd Moony toward the exit they had created in the rear of the Shrieking Shack with Wormtail running along ahead to open it and scurrying through. Prongs went first through the opening, then Moony, with Padfoot bringing up the rear.
It was a clear, cold night, their breath creating the only clouds in the sky. They could see the stars for miles, and the entire town of Hogsmeade stretched before them, waiting for them to explore. Above them the full moon burned bright and cast an eerie shadow over Moony, who stared at it as though fascinated for a moment, then turned his face skyward and howled, a long, bone-chilling, piercing, lonely sound. Though still in animal form, James felt a chill run down his spine and he felt a kind of empathy for Remus, even though he also knew that he would never truly understand the suffering that went into that sound.
Padfoot barked and danced back and forth, indicating his impatience to be on their way. Prongs answered him with a shake of his antlered head, and Padfoot barked once more enthusiastically before taking the lead, leaving Prongs to nudge Moony along with his antlers. Moony snarled and snapped his teeth at the stag, but followed after Padfoot and Wormtail without further incident.
Since James, Sirius, and Peter had become Animagi the previous year and were able to keep him company every full moon, Moony had become less wolfish, less dangerous. He was still a werewolf, of course, and would bite, snarl, and attack if given the opportunity, but he was not as vicious, as unpredictable as he had been. James had noticed the difference, was sure Sirius had too, and, in James' firm opinion, if they had helped Remus' crushing burden to become just a bit lighter by being there with him, then they were justified in their breaking of wizarding law.
The foursome made its way through the village and continued to the mountains just beyond it, having decided to spend the better part of this evening exploring the many caves the mountains supposedly had. Sirius had heard a rumor that some wild hippogriffs lived up there, so naturally they had wanted to find out if these rumors were true. None of them had ever seen a hippogriff up close.
The Marauders roamed through the caves for hours, not finding any hippogriffs but encountering plenty of bowtruckles. When the east began to show signs of dawn, they headed back down the mountainside, through the village, and into the Shrieking Shack.
They had no sooner gotten inside when Moony began to shake violently; then began to howl in apparent pain. Prongs peered through a crack in one of the boarded-up windows; the moon was gone. Moony was becoming Remus again.
A few minutes later the howls became screams as the transformation ran its course. The other three remained in animal form and averted their eyes; it was painful to watch at any time, but it was slightly less so as an animal. Finally the screams subsided, and there was Remus, lying on the floor bathed in sweat and deathly pale. After a few more minutes Remus opened his eyes and smiled weakly. Prongs closed his eyes and concentrated on becoming James again.
"I didn't..? " Remus began. It was the first thing he always asked as soon as his consciousness returned. James had never let him finish that particular question.
"'Course not," James interrupted him firmly. "We could hardly let that happen, you being a Prefect and all, now could we?"
"That'd be a fine one for your permanent record," Sirius snorted behind them, having reverted to human form. ""Tends to bite others at certain times of the month'"
After a slight pause, the implications of what Sirius had just said hit them as James and Sirius doubled over with laughter, Peter chuckled in a nervous, confused sort of way as though he had missed the punch line, and Remus managed a weak chuckle.
"'S not that different when you think about it," Sirius said defensively. "Both of 'em become rabid vicious monsters once a month that'd as soon bite your head off as look at you."
"And at least Moony is normal for some of that time," James chimed in, wiping his glasses on his shirt.
"Oh!" exclaimed Peter, a look of comprehension dawning on his face as he finally got the joke. There was complete silence as the other three just stared at him for a moment, Sirius slowly shaking his head.
"Wormtail, old friend," Sirius said at last, still shaking his head. "We have got to find you a girl."
Leaving Remus in the Shack to be collected by Madam Pomfrey with the promise of coming to visit him later, James, Peter, and Sirius made their way back to the castle under the invisibility cloak for some much needed sleep before their classes began in a few hours, three to be precise.
Even though he was exhausted, James was aware of the thought that whatever the repercussions, be they sleepless nights or a sentence in Azkaban, these full moon adventures were worth it.
* * *
Author's Note: Sorry this chapter is a little short, I'm hard at work on the next two, which will be a lot longer and up very soon. In the meantime, please review, and thank you to those of you who did, especially Lily Rowling Potter, Sweet Lil Angel2, James Potter09, and Willow23. You're the best; it's people like you who keep me writing.
Big things will be happening in this story very soon, just keep checking for updates; the new chapters should be up by Saturday or Sunday at the latest.
It was now 6 PM and James and Peter were waiting for Sirius in their dormitory; Peter fidgeting about nervously and James alternating glances out the window at the steadily darkening sky with checking his watch.
Though they had done it before, none of the Marauders fancied taking their monthly full moon excursions without each other. If Sirius didn't show soon, James and Peter would have to go to the Shrieking Shack alone, and, though James would never say it, he didn't much fancy taking on Remus in werewolf form with only Peter for assistance.
Madam Pomfrey and Remus should have gone to the Shack nearly a half- hour ago and Remus would begin his actual transformation soon. It was time to go; none of them liked to leave Remus on his own during his extremely painful lycanthropy. James moved away from the window and collected the Marauder's Map and his invisibility cloak from his bed.
"C'mon, Wormtail, Sirius'll catch up," James urged as he pulled out his wand. He tapped his wand on the map and said: "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Instantly lines of ink began to form on the parchment. Peter came over to study the map with James.
"Damn! Peeves is right by the statue!" Peter exclaimed.
"Don't wet yourself over it, Wormtail," came a familiar, if unexpected, reply.
James and Peter jumped, then spun around. "Padfoot!" James exclaimed, his grin spreading from ear to ear. "About bloody time you got here. We were about to leave without you."
"How'd you get out?" Peter asked breathlessly, as though he expected Sirius' tale of getting out of detention to involve planted explosives and an extraction team of Hit Wizards.
Sirius shrugged. "Turns out Colander was pretty impressed that I'd managed to make a Dissolution Solution at all, so she let me off rather easy after a dire warning about the evils of abusing potions and made me promise not to do it again."
All three snorted at that last statement. "Shall we?" James asked, holding open the door. They hurried down the stairs and out of Gryffindor Tower, stopping in the corridor just outside, where James pulled out his invisibility cloak. The three boys squeezed under it - a feat that became more and more difficult as they grew older and taller - for the most dangerous part of the trip, the part from inside the castle to the Whomping Willow, where they could safely transform.
The three made their slow and careful way down the stairs to the corridor below, where a secret passage would take them outside of the castle.
"Wormtail," hissed Sirius, "you have got to lose some weight, mate. We barely fit under this thing."
"Shhh!" James whispered.
"There's no need to be such a wanker about it," huffed Peter. "And if you stand on my foot again -"
"Look, you lot," James said as loudly as he dared. "If you don't stop bickering and shut up I'll toss you both out for Filch to catch."
"Sorry, Dad," Sirius quipped. "And will you turn this cloak around too?"
That little remark earned him a fulminating glare from James as well as a kick in the shin.
"Ouch!" Sirius exclaimed, glaring back at James. Finally the trio reached the right statue and, murmuring the password, entered the passageway without further incident - they were too good at this little game after so much practice - and pulled off the cloak for the time being.
Finally in front of the Whomping Willow, James threw off the cloak again. Glancing quickly round one last time to make sure no one could see them, James, Sirius, and Peter faced the tree and closed their eyes.
James focused all of his concentration on transforming into his Animagus form, a stag. After nearly a year of doing it, he still felt a thrill of anticipation run down his spine whenever he transformed. Part of it was the danger; the penalty for being an unregistered Animagus was a sentence in Azkaban, but another part was something else entirely.
James sensed the familiar blue-white glow of the transformation, indicating that one of the others, probably Peter, had already transformed. After another fraction of a second, James shifted as well.
It was an odd feeling, being an animal. James never felt so in tune with his body or with the world around him as he did when he was Prongs. Everything physical was heightened; he could see through the brush to Hagrid the gamekeeper's hut with astonishing clarity, could hear perfectly the scratching noises that Peter in his rat form was making, could smell Madam Pomfrey's peculiar scent of antiseptic and chocolate in the air though she had been there nearly half an hour ago. He also felt as though he could almost fly, so quick were his reactions and so fluid and effortless were his movements.
Mentally, James was almost exactly as he was in human form. He retained his same powers of perception and analysis, minus the ability to speak, of course, but emotionally it was a different story. The trivial little worries and insecurities that concerned a human were nonexistent in animal form. James was on a much more even keel emotionally; he was not easily upset or disconcerted. He thought less about abstract things and focused more on his instincts and what was around him instead of what people, especially a certain girl, thought of him.
Life was so much simpler and more carefree when you were an animal.
* * *
Quickly Wormtail, followed closely by Padfoot and Prongs, crouched through the passage in the Whomping Willow and hurried along the long, steep tunnel that led to the Shrieking Shack. They were still quite far away when they began to hear the screams of pure agony. Quickly Prongs and Padfoot exchanged a glance. No matter how many times they heard it, it was always horrible to hear those sounds and to have the knowledge that they were coming from their friend Remus.
By the time they reached the Shrieking Shack, Remus' transformation was complete and in his place was a snarling, vicious werewolf that lunged toward the first thing that entered the room, in this case Padfoot.
The werewolf and the dog wrestled about for a few minutes, Wormtail scuttling out of their path, before Prongs intervened, prodding Moony with his horns. The werewolf yelped and retreated with a snarl, still snapping at them and foaming at the mouth. Prongs and Padfoot exchanged yet another glance; even in animal form the pair exuded a sense of mischief. They had planned this full moon adventure, as they had the last two, with the greatest enthusiasm, fully aware that at such times they were virtually unstoppable. No one at Hogwarts knew their secrets; they wouldn't suspect them of being in animal form and even if they did, no one would dare approach them with a fully-grown werewolf in tow.
It was a heady feeling.
Prongs and Padfoot began to herd Moony toward the exit they had created in the rear of the Shrieking Shack with Wormtail running along ahead to open it and scurrying through. Prongs went first through the opening, then Moony, with Padfoot bringing up the rear.
It was a clear, cold night, their breath creating the only clouds in the sky. They could see the stars for miles, and the entire town of Hogsmeade stretched before them, waiting for them to explore. Above them the full moon burned bright and cast an eerie shadow over Moony, who stared at it as though fascinated for a moment, then turned his face skyward and howled, a long, bone-chilling, piercing, lonely sound. Though still in animal form, James felt a chill run down his spine and he felt a kind of empathy for Remus, even though he also knew that he would never truly understand the suffering that went into that sound.
Padfoot barked and danced back and forth, indicating his impatience to be on their way. Prongs answered him with a shake of his antlered head, and Padfoot barked once more enthusiastically before taking the lead, leaving Prongs to nudge Moony along with his antlers. Moony snarled and snapped his teeth at the stag, but followed after Padfoot and Wormtail without further incident.
Since James, Sirius, and Peter had become Animagi the previous year and were able to keep him company every full moon, Moony had become less wolfish, less dangerous. He was still a werewolf, of course, and would bite, snarl, and attack if given the opportunity, but he was not as vicious, as unpredictable as he had been. James had noticed the difference, was sure Sirius had too, and, in James' firm opinion, if they had helped Remus' crushing burden to become just a bit lighter by being there with him, then they were justified in their breaking of wizarding law.
The foursome made its way through the village and continued to the mountains just beyond it, having decided to spend the better part of this evening exploring the many caves the mountains supposedly had. Sirius had heard a rumor that some wild hippogriffs lived up there, so naturally they had wanted to find out if these rumors were true. None of them had ever seen a hippogriff up close.
The Marauders roamed through the caves for hours, not finding any hippogriffs but encountering plenty of bowtruckles. When the east began to show signs of dawn, they headed back down the mountainside, through the village, and into the Shrieking Shack.
They had no sooner gotten inside when Moony began to shake violently; then began to howl in apparent pain. Prongs peered through a crack in one of the boarded-up windows; the moon was gone. Moony was becoming Remus again.
A few minutes later the howls became screams as the transformation ran its course. The other three remained in animal form and averted their eyes; it was painful to watch at any time, but it was slightly less so as an animal. Finally the screams subsided, and there was Remus, lying on the floor bathed in sweat and deathly pale. After a few more minutes Remus opened his eyes and smiled weakly. Prongs closed his eyes and concentrated on becoming James again.
"I didn't..? " Remus began. It was the first thing he always asked as soon as his consciousness returned. James had never let him finish that particular question.
"'Course not," James interrupted him firmly. "We could hardly let that happen, you being a Prefect and all, now could we?"
"That'd be a fine one for your permanent record," Sirius snorted behind them, having reverted to human form. ""Tends to bite others at certain times of the month'"
After a slight pause, the implications of what Sirius had just said hit them as James and Sirius doubled over with laughter, Peter chuckled in a nervous, confused sort of way as though he had missed the punch line, and Remus managed a weak chuckle.
"'S not that different when you think about it," Sirius said defensively. "Both of 'em become rabid vicious monsters once a month that'd as soon bite your head off as look at you."
"And at least Moony is normal for some of that time," James chimed in, wiping his glasses on his shirt.
"Oh!" exclaimed Peter, a look of comprehension dawning on his face as he finally got the joke. There was complete silence as the other three just stared at him for a moment, Sirius slowly shaking his head.
"Wormtail, old friend," Sirius said at last, still shaking his head. "We have got to find you a girl."
Leaving Remus in the Shack to be collected by Madam Pomfrey with the promise of coming to visit him later, James, Peter, and Sirius made their way back to the castle under the invisibility cloak for some much needed sleep before their classes began in a few hours, three to be precise.
Even though he was exhausted, James was aware of the thought that whatever the repercussions, be they sleepless nights or a sentence in Azkaban, these full moon adventures were worth it.
* * *
Author's Note: Sorry this chapter is a little short, I'm hard at work on the next two, which will be a lot longer and up very soon. In the meantime, please review, and thank you to those of you who did, especially Lily Rowling Potter, Sweet Lil Angel2, James Potter09, and Willow23. You're the best; it's people like you who keep me writing.
Big things will be happening in this story very soon, just keep checking for updates; the new chapters should be up by Saturday or Sunday at the latest.