A/N: Right, I said I couldn't continue doing this, but I just have to say some things to the lovely people who've commented on the last chapter because a.) there were only three and b.) I adore you m -
The Naz: Your review made me laugh out loud! I do agree with you, though. Since I'm trying to stick with the books here, it's a given that er, some things will change. No more can be said here.
z'yiandria: Thanks for the helpful advice! You're right - the summary is a bit misleading, but I guess the Ebony Files will be the overall "plot point" and I couldn't fit in the trillions of other "sub-plot points that will contribute to the ending but not as much as the Ebony Files" so yeah. Does that make sense?
Shorty51: Awww, glad you liked the Remus/Lily thing! It's actually very fun and quick to write their conversations because I can just picture the two of them hiding behind books and sneaking peeks at each other...ah, fluff is good. Yes.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, your feature presentation-
The Ebony Files
Chapter Five: The Golden Room
October 27th, 1977
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Almost two months had already passed - Peter hadn't been accepted onto the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Severus and I were coming along with our Potions project, Sirius had already been "poisoned" six times with foods containing love potions, and James had led Gryffindor to a brilliant victory in last week's Quidditch game against Slytherin. I could scarcely believe it - it seemed like only yesterday that I was in the library with Lily, stammering and sweating over the confusion of it all...
Between classes and homework and her Head Girl duties, Lily and I were barely able to spend any time together. I saw her in some classes, of course, but talking to her with James sitting next to me was very different from talking to her alone. In the evenings, we were sometimes able to snatch a few minutes' conversation in the library, but constant interruptions and our combined paranoia made it difficult to linger. And then there were the evenings in the Common that I spent with James, Sirius and Peter, her standing only a few agonizing feet away. The idea of abandoning my friends and walking over to talk to Lily Evans was laughable.
After a few weeks of this frustrating, limited communication, we agreed to start using private owls to send each other post. It was funny - here we were, listening in the same classes, taking our meals at the same bench, doing our homework at opposite tables in the Common, acting like friendly acquaintances who said hello in the hallways and occasionally made small talk - and yet we were madly corresponding through midnight mail.
Talk about a double life.
Dear L, I wrote one afternoon, careful to conceal my parchment with my hands. Not that it really mattered - we were in History of Magic again. Peter was asleep, as usual, and James and Sirius were too busy shooting spitballs to notice me.
As I write, you're sitting just two seats ahead of me, dutifully taking notes, and I have the stongest urge to fold this up into an airplane when I'm done and charm it to fly to you.
Potions with Severus has gotten better, actually, thanks for asking. The work is still slow, considering there isn't much information out there about my condition, but I think we've got the key ingredients down. We don't talk much either - he's not exactly a chatterbox, and I'd feel awkward if I just suddenly asked him one day what his favorite color was or something. The bloke's brilliant at what he does, though - I couldn't ask for a better partner. Sorry, can't same the same for you, Sirius told me yesterday about how he accidentally trodded that flobberworm before you could add it to your solution. He's actually very intelligent, Sirius, but he doesn't try too hard at what he doesn't care about. My condolences go out to you.
Speaking of things to be sorry for, did you happen to see The Prophet this morning? Can you believe it - four Dark Marks over different houses all across London, and all in one night! I heard that Heather Zinkley, a First Year, was pulled out of class, her family had been one of the four...
Hopefully this disturbing news won't affect the Hogsmeade Trip on Halloween. Which, I might add, we still need to work out a plan for. I know for a fact that James and Sirius are going, and Peter's tagging along, so they'll expect me to join them. Maybe we could get away for an hour and meet somewhere that's not flooded with people? Hog's Head comes to mind, but even that's going to be risky...
I should probably stop writing this now, unless you want to start lending me your History of Magic notes. Take care.
I paused, unsure of how to end the letter. Usually, I just said "Yours," and scribbled my name. But it'd been two months, and a little sentimentality couldn't hurt...
After a few seconds, I settled on
Thinking of you,
R.
I rolled up the note, tucked it away in my robes, pulled out another clean sheet of parchment and reluctantly turned my attentions to Binns' lecture.
"Full moon's approaching," Sirius commented lightly that night, looking pensively out the window.
"You're telling me," I said.
The two of us were sitting on the window ledge of our dormitory, talking quietly. It was an old habit that had developed quite a long time ago - Sirius was a natural insomniac, and I could never sleep when the full moon was near, so for as long as I could remember, I always spent a few nights of the month talking by candlelight with Sirius.
"How do you feel?" he asked, playing with the hem of his pajama pants.
"Restless. It's the same feeling every time."
"You look like crap, you know."
"So much for being subtle."
"I wouldn't be one to talk," he muttered.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I said, my heart skipping a beat.
"Nothing."
I decided to let it go.
"You look good enough for the both of us, anyway." I smiled weakly.
Sirius brushed a strand of dark hair from his eyes, which were fixed on me with an unreadable expression. "Don't joke around like that. You really look bad, Remus. Those circles under your eyes...I could mistake you for a starving panda."
"It'll go away," I said softly.
"I think we should get drinks," he said suddenly, his eyes very bright. "You'd look better with hot chocolate in your system."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"But you love hot chocolate."
"We're gonna get caught."
"Please, Moony?"
I rolled my eyes and swung my legs off my seat. "What're you, eight?"
"Only compared to you," he grinned boyishly, knowing that he won.
He then leapt off the ledge and retrieved a folded square of parchment from his trunk. On our way out of the dormitory, I stopped to grab the thin, silvery cloak from under James' bed.
"We don't need it," Sirius said. "Ogg's in the West Tower."
"Just in case," I whispered.
We crept out of the dorm, made our through the portrait hole and reached the fruit bowl portrait in a matter of minutes, thanks to our extensive knowledge of shortcuts in the castle. As Sirius coaxed the pear to giggle, I checked the Marauder's Map again, and to my horror, saw a small dot moving towards our hall -
"Quick!" I said, throwing the Invisibility Cloak over Sirius just as Albus Dumbledore strolled into our corridor, humming placidly under his breath.
Sirius' finger was still on the pear, but we stood frozen under the cloak as the Headmaster neared. There was nothing to do but wait for him to pass - the pear portrait swinging on its own accord would surely attract his attention...
For one second as he neared, I had the nasty feeling that Dumbledore could see us plain as day. His blue eyes lingered on where we stood a bit too long to be just an innocent glance - but the moment was over in a flash and he moved on, his eyes twinkling in the darkness.
"Safe yet?" Sirius whispered. I squinted down at the map.
"Yeah." We threw off the cloak.
"I think that was close," Sirius grimaced the portrait opened and we stepped into the bright, noisy kitchen.
Before I could nod in agreement, we were immediately besieged by a dozen squeaky voices. The house elves all looked delighted at our appearance - they beamed happily up at us and tugged on our pajama bottoms with their little hands.
"We is pleased to see that Mister Black has brought his friend this time," one bowed, his long pointed nose grazing the floor. "What can we do for you, sirs?"
"The usual for me," Sirius said airily. "Remus will have hot chocolate."
Half a dozen little feet scurried away and returned seconds later, bearing a heavy tray with two large mugs and assorted pastries. They crammed biscuits in my pockets on our way out.
"Good, aren't they?" Sirius remarked ten minutes later, when we were comfortably settled back on the window ledge.
"Yeah, but don't they ever get tired of cooking?"
"I was talking about the drinks," he grinned. I narrowed my eyes.
"Sirius...why're you having coffee at this time of night?"
He shrugged. "Tastes good."
"But you had two cups at breakfast too! It's no wonder you don't get any sleep."
"Ah, but sleep is reserved for History of Magic," he grinned.
"Do you plan on living like this once we're out of school? Don't you want to find a girl, get married, settle down and start a family?"
He put his mug down. "I don't know," he said thoughtfully. "It just seems kind of boring."
"What do you mean, boring?" I said indignantly.
"Sure, girls are great to talk to, but why should I limit myself to sticking with one person for the rest of my life? I'd much rather just live with my friends or something, it'd be more exciting-"
"Because," I said. "That 'one person' will mean everything to you once you meet the right girl, Sirius. You're still going to have friends, of course, but she'll be the one you..." I stopped, grateful that in the semi-darkness he couldn't see my burning face.
We both knew the word that was hanging at the tip of my tongue, but just thinking about saying it was somehow really...weird. I was unaccustomed to this sudden distance - I usually had no trouble speaking my mind to Sirius-
"How do you know so much about all this?" he finally said.
"It's all around us," I said. "Look at how happy Frank is when he's with Alice."
Look at me, Sirius. Haven't you noticed a difference?
But Sirius wasn't looking - his face was turned toward the window again. Taking that our conversation had come to an end, I swallowed down the last of my hot chocolateslipped off the ledge, laid down on my bed and turned onto my side. The last thing I remembered seeing was Sirius' thin silhouette framed in the glowing moonlight.
"Remus, is that you? I'll be there in just a second, honey-"
"I'm fine, thanks. Take your time," I said, trying to ignore the loud moans of pain that were coming from inside the hospital wing.
Madam Promfrey's kindly face appeared at the door a few moments later. She smiled up at me as she buttoned on her jacket.
"Sorry about that, one of my patients got a Bludger right in the face, the poor boy, broken bones everywhere, not used to Skele-Gro, see-"
"S'okay," I bit my lip.
"You feeling okay, honey?" she asked as we started walking toward down the hall.
"I'm fine, thanks," I lied.
A cold gust of air hit us when we stepped out into the grounds. I tugged my robe a little tighter.
It'll be over soon, I told myself as we crossed the Quidditch field.
We reached the base of the Whomping Willow a few moments later, the autumn leaves crunching under our shoes. Before its heavy branches even sensed that something was near, Madam Promfrey had expertly leapt forward and prodded a knot at its base, and the faint stirring stopped abruptly.
"Well, we're here," I said, turning. "Thanks, Madam Promfrey. I'll...see you in the morning."
She did not move, but instead placed a hand on my shoulder and looked at me with her large, kind eyes.
"You're a good boy, Remus," she said, squeezing my shoulder gently. "You shouldn't have to do this."
I gave her a wistful smile before turning and bending into the crude opening at the base of the tree trunk. Once I was inside, the familiar mouldy smell of the place reached my nostrils. I crossed through the rooms I knew so well, carefully diverting my eyes from the wrecked furniture, the slashed curtains...
I reached the set of crumbly stairs and started to climb them slowly, dreading each step I took. I finally reached my "bedroom" - ah, and there was my four-poster bed, the sheets ripped to pieces...
I slowly began to remove my clothing. Transforming into a werewolf was different from turning into an Animagus form - while Sirius and James and Peter changed back into their human forms as they were, complete with clothing, mine only ripped as my body changed. It didn't make sense to keep replacing them, so I stowed my robes under the bed, where I wasn't exactly likely to go poking around as a werewolf.
Trying to ignore the empty, silent coldness that made my skin crawl, I walked over to the grimy old window and looked out. Far off was the village of Hogsmeade, its lights twinkling merrily. Funny, everybody who lived there thought the Shrieking Shack was haunted by ghosts and spirits, but it was only me, Remus, a teenager...
The clouds had shifted, and now I stood bathed in the cool moonlight. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
The pain began. It was slight at first, just a prickle, but a few seconds later it was spreading like fire, erupting from beneath the skin, furious hot needles stabbing everywhere-
I felt my body convulse as my bones begin to change, to shift. My nose lengthened, my spine began to curve, my tailbone elongated-
The agony of it was so pure, so strong. I bit my lip to keep from screaming, but it was in full effect now - I could feel my bones grinding against each other as they moved into place, and I was no longer shivering, but quite warm in my skin, and god, that rusty old smell was so much stronger, and as I glanced around, I was no longer blind in the darkness-
And then it started. The dreaded moment.
A wicked, black force with impossible strength invading my head, dimming my mind, pushing it down...
I was, quite literally, losing my mind-
"No, no!" I screamed, but my acute ears only heard growls...my thoughts and memories were fading, faster and further away...brief images flickered before me...my mum and dad waving...Severus bent double over his notes, frowning...the sunlight on Lily's hair...two large shadows looming by the door, a third scurrying around the bed...
And then, quite suddenly, I knew no more.
I was shivering like hell froze over.
I cracked open one eye. Through my bleary vision, I could tell that it was beginning to light up outside. I was lying naked on the cold, wet floor.
Wet?
I looked down and saw a puddle of dark liquid. Feeling nauseated, I quickly looked away.
God, it was cold.
Clothes. I need clothes.
With some difficulty, I got to my feet, only to collapse a second later, gasping from the pain, the soreness in my muscles, the searing in my chest.
Get up, my mind told me. But my body was too weak. Get up, Remus. It's over.
Yes, it's over.
Slowly, my teeth chattering uncontrollably, I pushed myself up again. It took me a minute to gather my breath. I took a few steps and clutched the railing of my four poster bed. Bending down, I grabbed the bundle of robes and forced them over my head. I reached clumsily into my pocket and took out my wand-
Warmth. Light.
I whispered the charm to create fire, but my wand only choked out a few feeble sparks. I was suddenly disgusted with this weakness, even though I had it everytime...
Ignoring the blurriness in my eyes and the wetness streaming down my cheeks, I started to walk, taking small, painful steps. Through the threshold, down the stairs, past the broken rooms, up the tunnel..
I staggered my way through the field, the dew on the grass wetting my ankles. I don't recall how long I was out there in the cold, walking blindly, but at one point I started squinting into the distance - who - was that -
"Remus! Oh Remus, you're bleeding..." I heard a voice say before I felt something solid take my arm, guiding me inside the castle. The warmth of the body next to mine was making me absolutely delirious...
"Just around the corner," the voice whispered. I nodded as we passed empty corridors and blurred paintings. I trusted this voice.
I remember hearing the faint creak of a door opening, and then I was led into a warm, golden room, my head spinning. I felt myself being guided down onto something deliciously cool and soft, a pillow, yes, and a thick goosefeather blanket...
"Close your eyes," the person said. I did. One hand was rubbing something warm onto my chest. It stung a little, but I didn't mind because the other hand was now stroking my hair, delicate, shaking fingers wiping away my cold sweat...
I remember laughing a little as something strong and dry was wrapped tight around my abdomen...
"Rest yourself," the voice said.
"M'kay," I murmured, snuggling my face into the pillow.
Through the blurriness of it all, to this day I only remember that something changed on the person's face, a sad smile perhaps, before the figure disappeared through the door and I fell to my dreams.
However many hours later, I awoke to the aroma of a hot turkey dinner resting on the nightstand. I recognized this place - it was the Room of Requirement! I bolted awake, looking about wildly, but the room was empty and silent save my own labored breathing. Whoever it'd been was long gone, and I had the sinking feeling that I wouldn't be finding out the identity anytime soon.
A/N: This is my favorite chapter so far. I'd always had this very clear, very vivid idea of how Remus went through his transformation, considering JK never went into much detail, so it was relieving to finally get it down on paper. And I also just love the ending, because Remus doesn't know who this person is, and neither do you, my readers..but I sure do! Mwahaha. From these clues (or are they red herrings?), I know who you probably think it is, and I know you're also considering a bunch of other candidates, and your opinions will probably change a few times as the story progresses, but you'll find out all in good time. Unless I get hit by a bus or something (Mean Girls, anybody?). Oh, God, that brings me to a thought, how horrible would it be if JK Rowling suddenly like, dropped dead one day and we never find out what happens to Harry? Ah, that's too depressing to even think about...I'm going to console myself with chocolate.
(And once again I've written a novelesque Author's Note. Sigh.)